Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WOODS CROSS -- Interstate 15 had to be shut down in Woods Cross Thursday morning, as a tractor trailer flipped and went through a retaining wall at mile marker 314 just before 10 a.m.
The Utah Highway Patrol said a blue pickup truck was northbound on I-15 when the driver swerved to miss a tire in the middle of the road. The move caused an awful chain reaction.
"The blue Chevy pickup took evasive action to avoid the [the tire], struck the semi truck, causing the semi truck to take evasive action. He lost control, ran into the wall - as you can see behind me - overturned and went over the barrier," said UHP Lt. Ed Michaud.
The driver of the semi truck, 31-year-old Javier Acosta, was able to hoist himself out of his crushed cabin, but he had broken bones and internal injuries. He was ultimately flown to the hospital in critical condition.
The driver and passengers in the other car are going to be all right. They're mostly banged up and shaken up. One of them said the road debris just came up so fast.
Troopers say the best advice in these cases is to try your best, depending on the road debris, not to overcorrect. Most times you're better off hitting it.
"Obviously it's a road hazard," Michaud said. "People's reaction to it creates the bigger hazard."
The crash closed down the interstate, as a chopper landed. It took hours to completely clear the scene. Troopers were investigating to determine whether any possible citations will be issued.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
