A three-mile stretch of eastbound Interstate 80 near Rawlins, Wyo., was closed this morning due to a series of multivehicle crashes.
State troopers closed I-80 between the west Rawlins interchange and the Thayer interchange at about 8 a.m..
Eastbound traffic has been re-routed through Rawlins on the business loop. Sgt. Stephen Townsend said I-80 re-opened at 12:30 p.m.
Troopers are investigating up to four separate crashes that involve passenger cars and tractor-trailer units.
At 10 a.m., there was one confirmed fatality and several serious injuries, Townsend said. The injured have been taken to Memorial Hospital in Rawlins. The number of injuries and their extent is unknown.
Townsend said road conditions at the time of the crashes were dry with no adverse weather conditions in the area. It is believed the early-morning sun may be to blame for limited visibility of some of the drivers.
The first crash that started the chain-reaction crashes was a Nissan Exterra pulling a trailer that slowed and was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer combination.
Townsend said the fatality is the driver of the Nissan and has not been positively identified.
At least two additional tractor-trailer combinations then rear-ended another tractor-trailer combination. The remainder of the vehicles have been passenger vehicles. There has been no fire or hazardous-material spill.
