A truck driver was killed early Tuesday morning when his cargo fatally pierced the cab following an abrupt stop in snowy conditions.
The collision occurred just before 2 a.m. on westbound Interstate 80 in Uinta County, Wyoming.
According to KPVI News, Enrique Lozano Castro, 47, topped a hill on I-80 while driving in slick conditions and then braked to prevent past collisions. As he braked, his trailer, which was transporting heavy metal pipes and I-beams, jackknifed, sending the rig sliding off the road. The vehicle’s tires subsequently became trapped in the soft ground alongside the road, bringing the truck to a grinding halt. The halt displaced the huge weight, and the metal penetrated through the truck’s cab.
Castro was fatally injured and was pronounced dead at the spot. According to the highway patrol, the cargo was fastened with merely a nylon strap, and the agency is examining if equipment failure had a role in the collision.
Four other semi-trucks were involved in collisions on the same stretch of road due to the “icy conditions.”