Truck Accident Lawyer News

MORGAN COUNTY, UT: Two semi trailers were involved in a truck accident Sunday morning, February 20, on a highway in Morgan County, Utah. Both of the truck drivers were charged after the collision which occurred on Interstate 84 in an area northeast of the Salt Lake City metro region. The truck accident area is in the far north part of Utah, about 101 miles south of Preston, Idaho and about 90 miles west of Mountain View, Wyoming.

On Sunday morning an unidentified semi driver from Kentucky was driving a flatbed tractor trailer through northern Utah. The flatbed was carrying a load of steel beams at the time of the truck accident. Utah was experiencing heavy winter storms over the weekend and many of the roads were icy and snow covered.

At about 9:00 a.m. Sunday the semi driver had reached Morgan County and was traveling west on Interstate 84. A second Volvo 18 wheeler was behind the flatbed on the interstate when the truck accident happened near the exit for Taggart, just east of the city of Morgan. The driver of the second semi was based out of Minnesota. The Minnesota driver, who also was not identified, was hauling a closed trailer section with an unknown cargo.

As the truck driver from Kentucky was passing near mile marker 108 on I-84 he apparently lost traction on the snow covered highway and the flatbed truck went out of control. The semi tractor skidded across the interstate and then jackknifed. The flatbed crashed and the truck accident left the semi trailer blocking all westbound lanes on the interstate.

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The second semi driver from Minnesota saw the truck accident occur in front of him and may have tried to maneuver around. The Minnesota truck driver was unable to avoid the crash and slammed into the jackknifed flatbed trailer. The force of the second truck accident broke some of the restraints on the flatbed and steel beams fell off the trailer, scattering across the westbound traffic lanes of I-84.

Local emergency teams rushed to the site of the two vehicle crash. Both drivers were able to get out of their cab sections and neither was seriously hurt in the truck accident. The Minnesota driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries that did not require hospitalization. The driver from Kentucky was not hurt.

The disabled semi trucks and scattered load of steel beams forced Utah Highway Patrol to close down a section of I-84 for several hours and reroute motorists around the crash site. The truck accident did not cause major delays since traffic was light due to the weekend.

Highway crews were brought to the site of the two vehicle crash and worked to remove the disabled tractor trailers, using heavy duty wreckers. The crew also picked up the spilled steel beams and reportedly loaded them onto another flatbed brought to the scene of the truck accident.

All westbound lanes were cleared and opened for traffic about 2 ½ hours after the truck accident occurred.

UHP reconstructed the crash and issued citations to both of the semi drivers. The driver from Kentucky who initially lost control and set off the truck accident was charged with Failing to Operate Within a Single Lane. The second driver from Minnesota was charged with Following Too Closely.

It is not known if the trucking companies that own the two semis will have to reimburse the state for the cost of the cleaning up I-84 after the truck accident.

For more information about Mississippi trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims’ rights, contact truck accident lawyers Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for expert truck accident advice. Visit our Utah truck accident lawyer page for more information about Utah truck accidents. For a free initial consultation, talk to a truck accident attorney at 1.800.773.6770.

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