1 dead in semitrailer crash south of Ely that spilled fuel

One person was killed and another gravely injured on a rural highway in Nye County early Sunday after a semitrailer hauling thousands of gallons of diesel fuel crashed into two other trucks.

The crash occurred about 8 a.m., roughly 70 miles south of Ely on state Route 318, Nevada Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Howell said.

A truck hauling three trailers of diesel fuel was going north on the highway when, for unknown reasons, it crossed the center line into oncoming traffic, Howell said. The northbound truck sideswiped one oncoming semitrailer before colliding with a second semitrailer head on, he said.

The driver of the northbound rig died at the scene, Howell said. The driver of the sideswiped truck was not injured, but the driver of the truck that was hit head-on was flown to a hospital in St. George, Utah, with “life-threatening” injuries, Howell said.

Howell said 6,000 to 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled at the scene of the crash, which caused significant delays as officials worked to clean it up.

The road was cleared as of about 3:15 p.m., according to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.