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TOOELE — Three people were critically injured Monday afternoon in Tooele County in separate crashes involving semitrucks, troopers said.
About 7:05 p.m., a black truck was driving east on I-80 near Rowley when the driver stopped to help a white car that was on the right shoulder with a dead battery, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden said. The driver made a U-turn on the freeway to jump-start the car.
As the truck was making the U-turn, it pulled in front of an eastbound car and was T-boned, according to the UHP. A man in the car that hit the truck suffered minor injuries and the two occupants in the truck were uninjured.
After that original crash, another car with three people inside — one of whom is a doctor — pulled over to the right shoulder and the occupants got out to check on the injuries of those involved in the crash, Roden said. When the people who got out to help were outside their vehicle, a semitruck crashed into the truck as it was sideways in the right lane.
The semitruck pushed the truck back into the car and two of the people standing by it, the sergeant said. They were both flown to a hospital in critical condition.
Troopers closed one westbound lane of I-80 as hazardous materials workers cleared the road, as fuel from the semitruck had spilled in the area. The closure was expected to remain in place until about midnight Monday.
Earlier Monday, a Toyota Tacoma was driving west on state Route 138 near Sheep Lane in Erda about 4:34 p.m. when a Toyota Tacoma was passing a semitruck that was in the right lane, according to Roden.
The Tacoma then cut back toward the semitruck and hit its cab, he said. The driver of the Tacoma lost control and the truck rolled multiple times, ejecting the driver.
The Tacoma driver was flown to a hospital in critical condition. The semitruck driver was uninjured.
Troopers closed S.R. 138 for a few hours following the crash.
