Viral Video Captures Moment Runaway Truck Loses Control on Busy Ski Highway

If you’ve ever driven I-70 through parts of Colorado (or most major US highways with steep sections, for that matter), you’ve undoubtedly seen runaway truck ramps along the road. Not to make too many assumptions, but odds are, if you’ve seen one of these, you’ve also wondered what it would be like to see a truck actually use one. 

Just a few weeks ago, a handful of Colorado drivers got to witness just that. One captured a video of a semi-truck flying up a runaway truck ramp on I-70, which quickly went viral.

The video was originally posted to X by Connor Storer, who had seen smoke coming from the truck a mile earlier. Storer decided not to pass the truck, and then saw its brake lights go on, but the semi didn’t slow down at all.

He started recording and captured the truck exiting the highway before flying up the ramp, followed by a large cloud of dust, hitting a guardrail, and finally stopping on the ramp. The video is shared below and you can find Storer’s X post here.

Colorado State Patrol reposted the video on its Facebook page, reminding drivers that if they see a truck coming toward them, they should merge left (all runaway truck ramps are on the right shoulder in Colorado) and stay calm. 

This particular incident occurred on I-70 West, past the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel, just before the highway hits Silverthorne, Colorado. 

Colorado State Trooper Hunter Mathews told Summit Daily News that they weren’t sure what caused the truck to use the ramp in this particular situation, but that more often than not, it’s a loss of brakes. Steep sections of highway, such as this one, tend to see more runaway truck ramp usage due to brake failure. 

This section of I-70 in particular tends to see a fair bit of traffic in the winter, given its proximity to several ski resorts. The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel sits just West of Loveland Ski Area, and north of Loveland Pass and Arapahoe Basin. 

Further down Highway 6, just over the mountains as the crow flies, is also Keystone Resort. Skiers headed from the Front Range to Copper Mountain, Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, or Steamboat Springs all continue down I-70 past Silverthorne before turning up to Frisco, onto Highway 9, or staying on I-70 all the way to the town of Vail. 

The East end of the Eisenhower Tunnel sits at an elevation of 11,013ft and rises to 11,158 by the west end of the tunnel. It’s not only the highest point on the United States Interstate Highway system, but the highway on either side of the tunnel can also be prone to the winter weather that feeds the many ski resorts nearby. 

As a result, these truck ramps are even more important in the winter months, especially when skier traffic ticks up.

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