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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
HELPER, Carbon County — Police have identified a 46-year-old West Valley woman killed in an accident while assisting in escorting a wide load vehicle on U.S. 6 Friday afternoon.
Utah Highway Patrol trooper Evan Kirby said Danyel Walton was one of two pilot vehicles escorting a wide load vehicle at approximately 2:15 p.m. when her pickup truck crossed the median and sideswiped another vehicle before crashing head-on into a water tanker semitruck.
Walton died at the scene. A man driving the semitruck was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. Two other vehicles were involved, but no other injuries were reported, Kirby said.
The crash closed a stretch of U.S. 6 for several hours while crews investigated the wreck and cleared the scene.
Though police were still investigating, Kirby said it is not uncommon for escort vehicles to cross the median at times to get a better view of the road while behind a wide load vehicle. He said investigators had not ruled that out as of Friday night.
"Investigators didn’t believe speed, impairment or distracted driving played a factor in the crash, Kirby added.”
