Estimated read time: 2-3 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
A dump truck driver was killed this morning when he lost control on Bangerter Parkway in Draper. It happened on a stretch of road that has been problematic for big trucks before.
There are no answers just yet about what caused the accident, but investigators speculate speed could be a reason the truck crashed into the embankment and rolled numerous times, killing the driver.
Sgt. Gerald Allred, with the Draper City Police Department, said, "He went off the left-hand side of the road as he came through the intersection here, some speed involved, which would make it difficult to negotiate the curve."
Draper police say the truck failed to make the sharp curve in the road and hit the guardrail so hard it flipped over the embankment and rolled more than 100 feet from the road. The 64-year-old driver was killed when he was thrown from the truck.
"It's a very steep embankment and a fairly sharp curve too; you put that all together with a big truck and a lot of mass moving at a pretty good speed, it all comes out to be a pretty bad deal," Allred said.
Investigators believe the driver tried to brake before hitting the guardrail. They found brake marks at the top of the road that stretch for more than 1,000 feet.
This accident happened in an area where there is a lot of construction going on and a lot of big-truck traffic. It's also an area that's known for accidents involving construction vehicles.
"It was engineered to handle that kind of traffic and to handle those vehicles, if they're in compliance and if the drivers are driving speeds they're supposed to drive," Allred said.
Investigators don't know if the truck in this accident was in compliance or not, but authorities encourage the construction vehicles working in the area to be extra cautious.
Allred said, "This is a mountain road, and they need to treat it like that."
Investigators aren't ruling other possible causes, like brake problems or mechanical issues, or that the truck was just too heavy.
Police have not released the truck driver's name.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
