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1 Dead, Asphalt Truck Crashes Into Clear Creek

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Sep 10, 2009 8:13 pm US/Mountain

1 Dead, Asphalt Truck Crashes Into Clear Creek

Reporting
Shaun Boyd
IDAHO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) ― An asphalt truck crashed around 11 a.m. Thursday morning near Idaho Springs on I-70, killing the semi-truck driver and spilling asphalt into Clear Creek. The driver has been identified as Octavio Schaffino, 44 years old of Phoenix, Ariz.

The Colorado State Patrol said the truck, operated by AAO Asphalt of Commerce City, was coming down the hill on a steep grade going west. It is unclear whether Schaffino was wearing a seat belt.

Troopers said when Schaffino tried to exit at I-70 and US 6, he failed to negotiate the ramp. The truck then flew through a guardrail and went into Clear Creek, spilling a gravel form of asphalt and diesel fuel into the water.

"Unfortunately the driver is very new to this area. The owner of the company said he was unfamiliar and should not have even been up in this area," said Trooper Deborah Bristol, Colorado State Patrol. "So as he came down the hill, he may not have been aware of how steep it was and may have lost his brakes."

"There was no fire, there was a lot of smoke and the smell of diesel was really, really strong. It was obvious there was nothing that could be done at that point to help the person," said Healther Bundgard, crash witness.

Clean up of the spilled asphalt and 100 gallons of diesel fuel is expected to last hours into Friday morning. Right now it's unclear what effect the spill could have on the environment.

In the past two weeks, two other asphalt trucks have crashed into the Poudre River.

All three incidents involve contractors for La Farge.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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