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HEBER CITY — A fiery crash involving two semitrailers Monday afternoon closed U.S. 40 in both directions for about four hours between the Daniels Port of Entry and Soldier Creek Dam.
A semi hauling crude oil was traveling east on U.S. 40 about 1:30 p.m. when it was hit from behind by another semi, said Utah Department of Public Safety Cpl. Todd Johnson. The oil tanker caught fire, but the driver was able to escape without injury.
The driver of the other semi, a gas tanker with an empty load, also was uninjured.
Crews battled the fire for a few hours before it burned itself out. U.S. 40 was reopened about 5:30 p.m.
Vernon Mortensen, a driver who was stuck in the stalled traffic on U.S. 40, said the oil tanker trailer was "fully engulfed in flames" and was "putting black smoke up into the sky pretty heavily."
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