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Two big rigs collided and burned in Millard County, forcing the closure of I-15 for a time this afternoon.
One semi was going slow up a hill near the top of the Scipio Summit when another semi, going too fast, rear-ended the truck causing both trucks to burst into flames.
And more than six hours later, crews are still trying to clean up the debris and reopen the freeway.
Just before noon today, a truck hauling some machinery weighing 80,000 pounds was slowed down to about 45 miles per hour when another semi changed lanes, only to hit the slow moving truck.
Neither driver was hurt in the crash, but a passenger in the second semi, who was sleeping in the sleeper cabin and was not restrained, was thrown out the windshield. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Highway Patrol troopers say in this case the driver who caused the wreck should have known better than anyone that big rigs are frequently traveling under the speed limit and to be cautious.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Kevin Rhoades said, "Be aware when they are going up the hills, they travel quite slowly because of their heavy loads. Just be aware that as you come up behind them, they may not be at freeway speeds."
The fire from this crash was intense. It completely burned up the England tractor-trailer that caused the crash.
It forced the freeway to be closed for an hour, until firefighters could get the fire put out. Rhoades said, "We had quite a back-up for a while due to the fact it was closed because of the fires. After we got some fire containment, we got them routed around using an exit here at the top of the hill to keep the traffic away from the second fire and all of the debris, so it's kept the traffic moving, at least slowly."
Since then, traffic is being diverted through a nearby ranch exit, so the delays haven't been too bad. But that heavy machinery has been a real struggle to get onto a new flat-bed trailer, which is delaying the cleanup.
Crews still have to move the burned out truck, so the detour will remain through the evening hours.
This is the second major crash in less than a week involving a semi truck. Last Friday, a propane tanker rolled near the mouth of Parley's Canyon, forcing the evacuation of 800 homes and the closure of parts of I-215 and Foothill Drive.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
