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ROOSEVELT — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was injured Tuesday in an early morning crash with a pickup truck that was stalled on the side of state Road 121 north of Roosevelt.
Trooper Luke Stradinger was responding to a crash about 5:45 a.m. when he rear-ended a one-ton, dually pickup truck that was "blacked out with no lights" and still partially in the travel lane, UHP Lt. Beau Mason said.
"It had a dead battery," Mason said, noting that people were actively working to jumpstart the truck when Stradinger collided with it.
"There were two other vehicles actually involved, but both drivers were outside their vehicles and away from the scene at the time of the collision," Mason said. "Neither one of them were injured."
Stradinger was not using his emergency lights or sirens, and was driving at "a normal travel speed" on the unlit rural road at the time of the crash, the lieutenant said. The posted speed limit in the area is 60 mph.
Duchesne County sheriff's deputies were dispatched to handle the crash Stradinger was responding to, Mason said. Sheriff's Lt. Jeremy Curry said that crash happened when a driver fell asleep at the wheel and rolled his vehicle. The man was not hurt, Curry said.
Stradinger was taken to Uintah Basin Medical Center, where he was treated for a concussion, a lacerated hand and minor facial injuries. Mason said the trooper was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
"Seat belts are required to be worn by troopers," the lieutenant said, "but we strongly believe in them anyway, so the trooper absolutely was wearing his seat belt."
The crash investigation has been turned over to Roosevelt police.
