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WASATCH COUNTY — A truck caused a large pile-up accident after hitting a guardrail early Saturday morning.
About 7:20 a.m., the pick up truck, pulling a trailer of snowmobiles, was heading north on state Route 189 adjacent to Deer Creek in very heavy fog. The driver missed a turn and hit a guardrail.
Because of poor visibility, officials said, several other vehicles were unable to stop in time and crashed into the others. Nine vehicles in total were involved in the wreck.
Another northbound truck was unable to stop and hit the original truck and trailer. The male driver of a van and his 15-year-old son were able to avoid the pile up accident and pulled off the road to offer assistance.
While the 15-year-old was standing on the roadside, he was hit by another oncoming vehicle.
The teenager was transported to the hospital with a broken leg.
The collisions had troopers re-routing traffic to 3000 South in Heber City where it connects with state Route 113.
Fog also caused a number of flights to be cancelled or diverted at the Salt Lake International Airport Saturday morning, but operations returned to normal once the thick fog lifted in the afternoon.
Barbara Gann, airport spokeswoman, said six SkyWest flights were diverted and eight others were cancelled. Such fog-related cancellations or diversions are fairly routine for this time year, she added.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City is reporting that a strong cold front is due to arrive in northwestern Utah on Sunday afternoon, bringing a storm that will soon chase away the fog. The front will be accompanied by rain and snow showers, in addition to thunderstorms, and by early Monday, it will be sweeping through the entire state.
The weather service said widespread accumulations of snow is possible, but the heaviest hit is likely to be in northern Utah. Valleys could see several inches of snow and heavy snow is anticipated to blanket the mountains in northern Utah.
While Monday's commute could join a string of other recent commuter treks that have been less than pleasant, the storm will provide welcome relief to the inversion that has been so entrenched this month.
A series of weaker storms is slated to hit the state next week, keeping the inversion off the doorstep of the Wasatch Front during that time.
