For the third time this week, a semitrailer overturned on Wolf Creek Pass, near the hairpin turn at the overlook.
Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Blake White said the truck overturned on the notorious section of U.S. Highway 160 at 3:50 a.m. Friday.
Capt. Adrian Driscoll said the highway was able to remain open as crews cleaned up the crash. A tow truck from La Jara arrived on scene about 11:45 a.m., and the road was clear by about 12:30 p.m., he said.
The driver, George Sanchez, 50, of Texas, suffered minor injuries but did not require medical transport, White said. A passenger in the semitrailer also had minor injuries but did not need to be taken to the hospital.
White said he was unsure if Sanchez was cited with a charge as a result of the crash, but he said unless it was a mechanical failure, Sanchez will likely be ticketed with careless driving.
White was also unsure where the truck was traveling from and to, but he said it was hauling soft drinks.
This crash marks the third overturned semitrailer on this particular section of Wolf Creek Pass this week.
On Tuesday, two semitrailers crashed within an hour of each other. One driver, Juan Perez of Miami, was taken to Pagosa Springs Medical Center with serious injuries after his truck overturned around 7:30 a.m. Calls to the hospital seeking a condition update were not immediately returned Friday morning.
In the other crash, about an hour later, Howard Dial of DeBerry, Texas, received minor injuries and was also taken to the hospital.
Both drivers were cited with careless driving.
The westbound descent from the summit of Wolf Creek Pass toward Pagosa Springs is a place where semitrailers run into trouble, earning it the moniker “Beware the Wolf.”
The Colorado Department of Transportation in recent years has increased the number of signs on the road to warn truckers to shift down to lower gears for the descent. CDOT has also worked to make improvements on the road.
Lisa Schwantes, spokeswoman for CDOT, did not immediately have information about the crash Friday morning.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
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