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Truck wreck mess sullies riverbanks

Greg Masse
Staff Writer

As the shock of the fatal Oct. 6 tractor-trailer crash in Glenwood Canyon fades, the debris scattered along the riverside and in the river channel remains. But it won’t stay that way for long, says Kevin Ward, the owner of Blaine Ward Towing.

Ward, who spent three days cleaning up the area and removing the wrecked hulk of the truck from the Glenwood Canyon trail, said he’s having trouble finding someone to clean up the mess.

“I’m trying to help the trucking company,” he said. “As soon as I can find somebody to do it, I will. … We’re handling the situation as best as we can.”



According to a Colorado State Patrol trooper, Colorado law requires that the towing company clean up the accident site.

The debris in the river consists of cardboard boxes, furniture parts and what appears to be a piece from the trailer. As of Monday afternoon, there were still at least 50 spots along the north side of the Colorado River where debris littered the bank. At the scene of the accident, the liquid that poured from the truck has been cleaned up, but a pungent diesel smell still lingers.



So far, Ward said he’s approached local rafting companies and Garfield County Search and Rescue to ask for help in cleaning up the mess, but both declined. The rubber rafts used for those operations are too prone to being punctured, Ward said. He plans to keep looking.

The company that operated the truck, Bowtie Trucking of Denver, has been working with Ward to get the debris removed, Ward said. The company could not be reached for comment.

The crash, which happened at 2:15 p.m. Oct. 6, about halfway between the No Name and Grizzly Creek exits on Interstate 70, resulted in the death of the driver, James Cardell Davis II, 45, of Highlands Ranch.

The crash caused the left lane of eastbound Interstate 70 to be closed for about five hours.

A witness to the crash told authorities that Davis was traveling at a high rate of speed when he came into a left curve and attempted to change to the right lane. He lost control and the truck flipped over the guardrail, landed on the bicycle path and slid into the river.


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