Greenwood Village approves Subarea Yes
No
Voter Participation %
1479
4613
51%
S O U T H
M E T R O
THE RACE TO THE TOP
South metro hopefuls stake claim in GOP governor’s primary POLITICS | PG 12-13
VOLUME 35 • NUMBER 29 • JUNE 8, 2017
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A standstill on I-25 Tanker’s driver remained hospitalized
Transportation officials and onlookers take it all in.
The fire from a fuel tanker carrying 1,000 gallons of fuel and oil that drove into a median along I-25 on May 31 brought the heart of the Denver Tech Center to a near standstill. Traffic was closed in both directions for several hours, sending tens of thousands of cars on alternate routes and halting nearby light rail service. South Metro Fire Rescue, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Greenwood Village Police Department worked in tandem, as media and onlookers took interest near the intersection of Interstates 25 and 225. “Could have our operation been done better? I seriously doubt it,” Greenwood Village Mayor Ron Rakowsky wrote last week in a circulated email to city officials. “While tens of thousands of citizens were inconvenienced, when we have one of the two major economic lifelines bisecting our city, incidents such as this one come with the territory.” Multiple city resources, including several dump trucks filled with sand, were used to assist in fighting the blaze. Several area restaurants, including Del Frisco’s and Jimmy John’s, provided free food to the teams of first-responders. Reports amid the black smoke included tires flying across the highway and the strong heat being felt by passing light rail passengers. The tanker’s 57-year-old driver for Indiana-based Reynolds Transport Company remained hospitalized at press time.
Photos courtesy of South Metro Fire Rescue
See more on page 5
An aerial view of the tanker spill. Courtesy photo
Smoke could be seen billowing across the Denver Tech Center’s skies last week after a fuel tanker slammed into a median on northbound I-25.