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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper is under investigation after making a U-turn apparently without checking the traffic behind him first, and causing a three-car crash.
On Monday about 7:30 p.m., a UHP trooper was on Trappers Loop in Morgan County when he saw a car approaching in the other direction going 20 mph over the speed limit.
"The trooper initiated his emergency equipment and made a U-turn on the vehicle. The trooper failed to observe the traffic behind him. The driver of the truck directly behind the trooper was unable to avoid the collision," according to a statement from the Utah Highway Patrol.
The driver of that truck had a dashboard video running and recorded the crash, which was posted to Facebook. In the video, the trooper is seen slowing down and pulling to the right shoulder while his overhead lights are flashing. But the trooper never comes to a complete stop. And shortly after beginning his turn in the right shoulder, he attempts to complete his U-turn by pulling out directly in front of the truck.
The truck can be seen hitting the back of the patrol car on the driver's side.
Just after the truck hit the patrol car and came to a stop, another pickup truck, driven by Derek Wothoff and hauling a boat, jackknifes and slides past the first truck on the dirt and gravel in the right shoulder, narrowly missing the other vehicles.
"Super crazy 4th of July! So grateful for all of my race experience to save our lives. It happens in a blink of an eye. Everyone walked away without injury. I literally have no idea what that officer was thinking," Wolthoff wrote on his Facebook page while also posting pictures and copy of the video.
The UHP says both an internal investigation and an investigation by an outside agency are being conducted.
