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Truck driver tried to self-eject

Texas man dies south of Silverton
A semitrailer went off the road about 8:15 a.m. Tuesday on U.S. Highway 550 south of Silverton. The driver died on scene.

The driver of a semitrailer died in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday south of Silverton.

The name of the victim, a 30-year-old man from Texas, was not released.

The wreck was reported at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday. The tractor-trailer was hauling sheetrock northbound on U.S. Highway 550 and went off the left side of the road on a sharp right turn, said Trooper Nate Reid, spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol.

The driver “self-ejected,” bailing out of the 2011 Freightliner as the vehicle fell down an embankment, Reid said. The driver was struck by the truck’s rear wheels. He died at the scene.

Traffic on Highway 550 was restricted to one alternating lane around milepost 70, immediately south of Silverton, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

cslothower@durangoherald.com



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