ST. GEORGE — A man who was trapped in a semitractor-trailer that landed upside-down in a desolate area of Iron County was flown to the hospital in serious condition Saturday.
Shortly before 1 p.m., the semi was heading west on state Route 20 near mile marker 5 when the driver lost control of the truck while attempting to negotiate a curve in the road, Trooper Cameron Roden, public information officer for the Utah Highway Patrol, said.
“It appears the driver took the curve too fast and then he lost control of the truck,” Roden said.
The semi veered to the right and went off the shoulder, rolling down the embankment and landing upside-down, Roden said.
The cab of the truck was crushed during the crash, particularly the top of the cab, leaving little room for the driver who was seriously injured, pinned and trapped inside of the truck.
Due to the severity of the crash, Intermountain Life Flight was dispatched to the scene for air transport.
Emergency responders extricated the man from the semi and flew him to Dixie Regional Medical Center in serious condition, Roden said.
The extensive recovery effort to pull the entire semi-tractor trailer up from where it landed and to clear the contents of the damaged trailer, debris and wreckage from the roadway took a great deal of time.
SR-20 was closed for nearly two hours in both directions as a result of the cleanup and recovery efforts, according to traffic data provided by the Utah Department of Transportation.
This report is based on statements from law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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When are drivers going to slow down, they know what vehicle they are driving.. Too fast,,curve. Spells disaster..