Witnesses rescue 2 men from overturned truck on Highway 91

CACHE COUNTY — Two men were rescued by eyewitnesses after a car accident Tuesday morning.

Utah Highway Patrol officers received reports of an accident on Highway 91 near mile marker 38 1/2 between Smithfield and Richmond, according to Trooper Kent Goodrich. A 23-year-old man and his 52-year-old father were driving a Ford Ranger pickup truck heading northbound around 7:50 a.m. when the son fell asleep while driving and drifted to the right of the road, Goodrich said.

When the truck drifted toward the edge of the road, it hit a Caterpillar front-end loader that had been traveling northbound, Goodrich said. The Caterpillar had been driving on the edge of the road with its hazard lights flashing, and the truck hit the front right side of the Caterpillar while traveling 60 miles per hour.

Goodrich said the impact of the accident caused the truck to roll several times and it came to rest on its side in the median.

Lewiston resident, Lyndie Hall, said she was driving to Logan for work when she came upon the scene of the accident around 8 a.m. She said she pulled over to the side of the road along with several other drivers to assess the damage.

"It happened so fast we just kind of came onto it," Hall said. "I could see smoke so I figured the truck was probably on fire because it was smoking pretty heavily. I was kind of in shock because I didn't see what had happened but it just came up so quickly."

Hall said several men ran past her towards the truck to help the victim inside. She said one person called 911 while another man grabbed a fire extinguisher and began spraying the smoking area of the vehicle. Hall said that around six men picked up the truck and tipped it back onto its wheels.

James Heger arrived at the scene after the accident happened and was one of several people who flipped the truck upright and pulled the injured father out of the smashed vehicle.

"We went around to the passenger side to pull the passenger out through the windows. We couldn't open any of the doors," Heger said.

He said the passenger "was pretty messed up."

Heger said the son was able to get himself out of the truck and was walking around after the crash.

"The passenger door was halfway cracked open and one gentleman just basically pulled that door right open," Hall said. "It was amazing. I couldn't believe he even got it open. And the other guys from the other side of the truck came running around and helped remove the gentleman that was inside of the truck."

Hall said the men carried the 52-year-old to the side of the road where they bundled him with a blanket. She said she was very impressed with the bravery of the men that came on the scene.

"It was really heroic of those guys because it was dangerous," Hall said. "There was still traffic and it was right in the middle of the road and there was glass and all sorts of stuff all over the road. Those guys really helped save a man's life."

Goodrich said the 52-year-old man was seriously injured in the accident with several broken ribs, facial injuries and an open fracture to his left wrist. The 23-year-old received minor injuries and both were transported to a local hospital. The father was later transported to a hospital in Salt Lake City.

Goodrich credited the witnesses of the accident with saving the life of both victims.

"It's fantastic about this story that people are willing to help," he said. "Obviously, these people were in a bad way and they needed some immediate assistance. They stopped and got out of their cars. They got involved and were willing to help when people needed it the most, and that's neat any time you see people who are willing to do that."

Goodrich said the victims are both residents of Hyrum and had recently moved from Nevada. The condition of the men is currently unknown and the names of the victims have not yet been released.

Contributing: Viviane Vo-Duc and Keith McCord

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