In addition to an unknown number of fatalities, at least six people were hospitalized with injuries following the crash on Interstate 70 on Thursday evening, according to the Lakewood Police Department. It said the driver of the semi was among those injured.
The semi hit cars stuck in a jam because of evening rush hour and a prior crash, Lakewood Police Agent Ty Countryman said.
"We do know that I-70 eastbound traffic was at a standstill or close to a standstill because of a crash way out ahead of it," he said at a news conference. "The semi was eastbound and ended up colliding with the ... cars that were stopped because of the accident ahead. That's all we know or we are releasing at this point."
Video from the scene showed towering orange flames and piles of lumber scattered across the highway, some in smoldering ruins.
The priority is on putting out the hot spots and identifying who was in each car, police said early Friday. Even through the fire has been extinguished, glowing embers and hot spots prevented investigators from getting to the crashed vehicles as fast.
"This is looking to be one of the worst accidents we've had here in Lakewood," Countryman said.
The Denver West Parkway bridge over I-70 got significant structural damage from the fire, authorities said. The I-70 at the scene of the crash is closed overnight in both directions.
Lakewood is about 10 miles from Denver.
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