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WEST JORDAN — A 42-year-old woman was in critical condition Thursday after being hit by a pickup truck while trying to help her husband turn his semitractor-trailer around.
About 6:30 a.m., a husband and wife from Idaho Falls drove their big rig into a strip mall near 7800 South and 3000 West and needed to turn around, but soon realized the area was too small, said West Jordan police detective Scott List.
The driver had his wife get out of the semi to stop traffic so he could back into the street, List said. But shortly after getting out of the semi, the wife was hit by an oncoming vehicle, he said. The area was very dark at the time, he said, and the driver told police he did not see the woman until it was too late.
After the woman was hit, the husband jumped out of the semi to help her. But the semi was left in neutral and rolled 10 to 15 feet, hitting a steel pillar surrounded by cinder blocks that was holding up an awning, List said. Damage to the structure, which was in front of a vacant building, was minimal, he said.
Thursday's incident marked the fourth critical auto-pedestrian accident in Utah this week and at least the seventh in the past 2 1/2 weeks.
• Wednesday, an 82-year-old man was struck and killed while in a crosswalk in Provo by a Honda Civic heading north. Police identified the man Thursday as Rodolfo Blanco. Investigators originally believed the man was in his 60s.
• Tuesday morning, Carol Lee Hambleton, 66, of Taylorsville, was walking her bicycle across a crosswalk on 700 East at 3300 South in South Salt Lake when she was hit and killed by a southbound vehicle, said South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller.
• Monday night, Tammy Colton, 47, of West Valley City, was crossing 4700 South at 1463 West in Taylorsville when she was hit and killed by two vehicles, according to Unified police.
• On Sept. 15, a 9-year-old girl was chasing her dog into the street when she was hit by an SUV near 1465 W. and 500 North. The girl, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to a local hospital where she died from her injuries, according to Salt Lake City police.
• Several hours after the Sept. 15 incident, a 2-year-old girl ran into the street at 1785 W. 400 North and was hit by a suspected drunken driver. The girl was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
• On Sept. 11, a 3-year-old girl was seriously injured as the girl's family was leaving a park at 300 North and 1100 West. The girl broke away from her family and ran into the street where she was hit, according to police.
