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Sam Penrod Reporting"When you drive through the canyon all the time, you get to see the same people every time."
Today, drivers who frequent the highway in Provo Canyon witnessed a terrible crash when a construction dump truck went onto the highway and crushed a car, killing a 27-year old woman.
The crash happened during the morning drive in a construction zone, not far the Deer Creek Dam. Twenty-seven year old Lorna Lister of Lindon was killed in the crash that has a lot of people asking why.
The highway in Provo Canyon is in the middle of a four year project to make it wider and safer. Today, police say one of those construction dump trucks, for some reason was on the highway and then veered right into oncoming traffic. Sadly, the woman who was killed had no chance to avoid it.
The Highway Patrol says the 27-year old woman in a Volkswagen Jetta was hit by this heavy duty dump truck, that crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic. The dump truck first clipped a van and ran over a trailer it was pulling, before it completely crushed the Jetta following behind.
Rebecca Wells, Witness: "We were just driving, we were minding our own business, all in our same lane and he just cut across going about a 45 degree angle, he just swallowed her. That's all I can think of saying, he just swallowed her up."
The driver of the Jetta, 27-year old Lorna Lister of Lindon, died in the accident.
Rebecca Wells, Witness: "I've just seen her so many times, she drives a Jetta and is really young and cute."
Utah highway troopers say a dump truck driver involved in a fatal crash today possibly had a medical problem. They can find no other reason the driver would have moved onto the Provo Canyon highway.
They say there was no reason for the dump truck to be driving on the highway at all.
Lt. Randall Richey, Utah Highway Patrol: "It's not registered for the road, it's designed for large construction zones like this."
The truck belongs to a contractor working to widen the highway. UDOT says the contractor does have a good safety record.
Still, it was a traumatizing experience for those who saw what happened and could do nothing to help.
Rebecca Wells, Witness: "That CAT was just coming across the road, it was... you knew it was going to hit her and you couldn't save her, you couldn't stop it. She's just a young girl, so it's really hard."
It will likely be several weeks before the investigation is finished and prosecutors decide if any criminal charges will be filed.
