Estimated read time: 1-2 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
OAKLEY, Summit County — A 9-year-old boy is in "extremely critical" condition after the truck he was in with two other children was submerged in the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir on Monday afternoon.
A family was unloading kayaks during a camping trip when their truck rolled into the water with three children still inside at about 5:20 p.m., Summit County Sheriff's Office Capt. Andrew Wright said.
One 9-year-old boy was able to get out on his own, and a 2-year-old girl was rescued by a family member, Wright explained. Unfortunately, the family member was too fatigued to go back in for the other 9-year-old boy, and called toward a nearby kayaker for some assistance.
"The grandfather or a family member was able to get the 2-year-old girl out, but he was too fatigued to dive down to the truck, and so he started yelling for help," Wright said. "Someone on a kayak was able to kayak across and dove down what I've been told, five different times; on the fifth attempt, was able to get the 9-year-old out."
Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez tweeted that the boy had been underwater for more than 10 minutes.
The 9-year-old boy was flown to Salt Lake City in "extremely critical" condition, Wright said.
"It's a pretty tragic situation, and we're hoping for the best for the little boy … we'll hopefully have some more information tomorrow morning," Wright said.
Summit County Sheriff's Office's search and rescue team, Utah State Parks, U.S. Forest Service, Air Med and South Summit Fire District were all on scene, with many working through the night investigating the incident, Wright explained.
