Thursday, March 5, 2015

MAN REMAINS CRITICAL DAY AFTER REAR-ENDING UDOT TRUCK ON I-80. EXCESSIVE SPEED, WEATHER AND DISTRACTION ARE FACTORS THAT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE CRASH









MARCH 3, 2015

SALT LAKE, UTAH

A man remained in critical condition Wednesday, the day after his car rearended a Utah Department of Transportation maintenance truck on an icy Interstate 80 just east of Salt Lake City.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said speed, snowy road conditions and driver distraction all appeared to have been factors in the crash near Lambs Canyon.

A UDOT employee — helping to clear wreckage from an earlier traffic accident in the westbound lanes of the freeway — turned to see an oncoming car, approaching at high speed, and jumped into the truck in an effort to move it out of the way.

However, the car still slammed into the rear of the truck, just after noon. The car's male driver was flown to a Salt Lake City hospital with life-threatening injuries; the UDOT worker sustained minor injuries, Royce said.
The crash remained under investigation.