Westbound lanes of I-70 opened about 4 p.m. Thursday at Ward and the east bound lanes will be open later tonight after a major crash which happened just as rush hour was winding down Thursday morning.

Three people were killed when a semi-truck crashed on eastbound Interstate 70 near Ward Road around 8:20 a.m. Thursday and spilled its load of pipes onto the westbound lanes of the highway, where those pipes hit several vehicles. Some of the pipes also ended up over a barrier and hit at least one car on the opposite side of the highway. 

Five people were inside of one of the vehicles that was hit with debris. Three of those people were killed. The two others were taken to a hospital for treatment and are in stable condition, according to the Wheat Ridge Police Department. 

Drivers were stuck on the highway reported on social media that they sat on the highway for as long as five hours waiting for the accident to clear. 

Eric Kellog with the Wheat Ridge Police Department said at least two other vehicles were hit with the debris. They don’t believe any other vehicles were involved in the initial rollover crash involving the semi-truck.

It’s not yet known what caused the semi-truck to roll over. The driver was also taken to the hospital for treatment.

As a result of the crash, the eastbound lanes of the highway were closed at Highway 6. The westbound lanes were closed at Kipling Street until around 3:30 pm, Wheat Ridge police said. 

The Denver Gazette’s news partners 9NEWS.com contributed to this report.