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GARDEN CITY, Rich County — It takes quite a bit of work to build the house of your dreams.
“Yeah, I’ve been working on it for quite a while,” Jon Nichol said with a smile.
He’s been constructing it and gathering items piece by piece to make it perfect.
“Buying things on classifieds and getting things in garage sales,” he said.
Nichol and his wife plan on spending the rest of their lives in this Garden City home. But now, he also knows how close he came to losing his life.
“When I saw that semi, I knew I was dead,” said Nichol. “I knew that was the end of it for me.”
Nichol is the chief deputy for the Rich County Sheriff’s Office.
On Feb. 5, he was outside his patrol car directing traffic in a canyon, along Highway 30 near Laketown, during a snowstorm when that semi started skidding.
It was too late to get out of the way.
“He came head on over the top of me and the whole length of the tractor and trailer passed over me,” said Nichol.
He suffered severed tendons, cuts, scrapes, and bruises as well as a broken elbow. But, he’s alive.
“It was definitely a miracle,” said Nichol.
Rich County Sheriff Dale Stacey estimates that semi was going at least 55 miles an hour when it hit Nichol.
“I didn’t realize it was him until I got right to the scene,” said Stacey. “We’re not just working together, we’re friends. We trust each other with our lives, literally.”
Looking at pictures of the wreckage, there is no way someone is supposed to survive a hit like that.
“I’m very lucky. Very lucky,” said Nichol.
Nichol even said yes when he heard the driver of the semi who hit him wanted to say sorry.
“I told him not to lose a minute’s sleep over it. That this kind of stuff, you know, nobody did anything intentionally,” said Nichol. “Whether he was driving a little too fast for the conditions or out of control for conditions, didn’t make him a criminal, you know? Just made him another person that made a mistake.”
Now, Nichol is home wishing he could get back to finishing it, and doing the job he truly loves. No matter how dangerous it is.
“It’s a good community. People are good people up here,” he said. “There is nothing I would rather do. This, to me, is my dream job.”
A GoFundMe* page has been set up for the family.
Friends are also helping to organize volunteers to help finish his home in a few weeks. Those interested in helping with construction or anything in that manner can email gardencityfiredistrict@gmail.com.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
