Construction material that fell off truck led to a three-vehicle pileup on Colorado Highway 184 Wednesday morning, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

About 9:52 a.m., a white Dodge Ram pickup truck traveling westbound at mile marker 17 lost a load of a fine construction material, which caused limited visibility for vehicles behind, said Sgt. Nathan Lyons.

The material, possibly cement, was blown across the roadway for 200 yards.

The low visibility caused a chain-reaction of rear-end crashes involving three vehicles from Arizona that were traveling behind the pickup.

Three people from the vehicles involved suffered minor injuries and were taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez.

After realizing what had happened, the driver of the pickup that lost its load returned to the scene. He was cited for illegal dumping on a roadway, Lyons said.

CDOT used a brush truck to help clear the roadway. Two of the vehicles involved in the crash were towed, Lyons said. Everyone was wearing a seat belt.

No tickets were issued to the vehicles that crashed because the trooper on scene determined the incident was caused by a road hazard from the lost load.

“It was similar to a fog situation, but this one was not weather related,” Lyons said.

The westbound lane was temporarily closed, and alternating traffic was allowed.

jmimiaga@the-journal.com