A fatal crash took place on Thursday morning in Myton, Utah involving a tanker truck and a pickup truck. At 6:55 a.m., the driver of the tanker truck, Darrel Wiser, reportedly lost traction as he descended the hill on a two-lane road approaching the US-40 on Parriete Road.
According to Utah Highway Patrol trooper Brett Hansen, “One of the trailers being pulled by the truck jack-knifed and crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a pickup truck driven by Dean Townsend, 49, of Roosevelt.”
According to recent reports, Townsend was pinned due to the impact of the truck bed and his own vehicle. Townswend passed away later from several traumatic injuries.
The tanker truck’s trailer then proceeded to roll down a hill and was ruptured, spilling its load of crude oil. The driver of the truck, Darrel Wiser of Nibley, suffered only a minor scrape on his neck and was issued a citation for failing to operate within a single lane.
Troopers and Duchesne County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the crash. Investigators believe icy roads contributed to the accident. Weather-related accidents occur tens of thousands of times a year in America. With such detrimental effects from the collisions, extra caution and care should be taken to avoid such incidents at all costs. Sometimes accidents are unavoidable, but you can never be too careful and finding a way to drive safer is usually as simple as slowing down.
Everyone at Christensen and Hymas offers our sympathies to the Townsend family during this difficult time. We know that the loss is tragic and we wish the best to all involved in this incident through this hard time.
To read more about weather related accidents, click here.
Original Story by Geoff Liesik at KSL.com
Picture courtesy of truckaccidentlaw.org