Video shows the fiery aftermath of ‘devastating’ 28-vehicle crash on Colorado highway

A fiery crash that a semi-truck driver triggered Thursday on Interstate 70 outside Denver left a handful of people dead in Colorado, according to police.

Video from the scene appears to show pieces of lumber from a semi-truck contributing to the blaze. The pile-up occurred when the semi-driver crashed into stalled traffic, NBC reports.

So far, authorities are estimating that 28 vehicles were involved in the crash — 24 cars and 4 semi-trucks, police said at a news conference Friday morning. Police said there are multiple fatalities, though an exact number was not released.

Six people were taken to the hospital, police spokesman Ty Countryman said Friday morning. Countryman did not have an update on the condition of those hospitalized.

Countryman confirmed that “unfortunately, yes” there are still bodies at the scene. A local TV reporter with CBS4 called the scene Friday morning “devastating” in a post on Twitter.

“The driver of the semi that started the event was taken into custody,” Countryman said at the news conference, adding that he will face “multiple counts of vehicular homicide.”

Countryman added that those charges “are stemming from interviews and evidence that was gathered overnight.”

The driver was identified as 23-year-old Rogel Lazaro Aguilera, KDVR and CBS4 report.

“He was injured, but not seriously,” Countryman said of the driver.

Countryman said authorities don’t believe drugs or alcohol were involved. There was no evidence the crash was intentional, he said.

KDVR reported that video shared of the wreck on YouTube “appeared to show the semi speeding down the shoulder of the interstate moments before the crash happened.”

The highway is expected to remain closed until Saturday. Heat from the fire also caused damage to a bridge, NBC reported.

This story was originally published April 26, 2019 at 8:30 AM.