An empty semitruck used to haul uranium ore rolled over Tuesday on U.S. Highway 160 near Black Mesa on the Navajo Nation, marking the second Arizona crash involving a transport vehicle since May. The driver suffered minor injuries, but officials said the empty trailer posed no radiological threat.
The Navajo Police Department said weather contributed to the single-vehicle crash near milepost 368, south of Kayenta. The truck had delivered ore from Energy Fuels’ Pinyon Plain Mine near the Grand Canyon to the White Mesa Mill in Blanding, Utah, and was returning to the mine. The Arizona Department of Public Safety said the driver may have lost control during a heavy downpour.
KJZZ reported diesel fuel leaked from the vehicle and a contractor approved by the Arizona Department of Transportation was expected to finish cleanup Wednesday. Energy Fuels said it would conduct a root-cause investigation and that safety remains its highest priority. The driver was treated at a Kayenta hospital and discharged the same day.
The rollover followed a May collision involving a loaded haul truck near Shonto. Authorities said the truck was sideswiped and no hazardous materials were released.
The latest crash prompted renewed calls for tighter oversight. Leona Morgan, a Navajo Nation member and Haul No! co-founder, urged the Arizona Department of Transportation and National Transportation Safety Board to investigate and local governments to consider stronger rules and penalties.
A January 2025 agreement between the Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels limits uranium ore hauling to set routes and hours and adds emergency-response requirements. KNAU reported the agreement bars ore transport during inclement weather. Tuesday’s trailer was empty, and the report did not say whether the weather restriction covers return trips.
