Grantsville, UT (September 23, 2022) – One man was taken to an area hospital with critical injuries following a crash involving a semi-truck on Friday, September 23rd in Grantsville.
According to troopers with the Utah Highway Patrol, a semi hauling two empty gravel belly dump trailers was driving westbound on State Route 138 at about 9:00 a.m. when it was involved in a collision with an eastbound Ford Raptor.
The impact caused the semi to jackknife and one of its trailers to come disengaged. Additional agencies were dispatched to assist with the 200 gallons of fuel the truck spilled onto the roadway and shoulder with no drains in the area.
The driver of Raptor was med-flighted to a local hospital in critical condition. The truck driver was comparatively unharmed.
Our thoughts are with the injured victim and their family at this time. We hope for their full recovery.
People tend to assume that the truck driver is always at fault for accidents involving semi-trucks, but this is not always the case.
Semi-truck accidents occur much more frequently than people realize. Accidents that involve these gigantic vehicles often result in devastation, leaving victims with equally gigantic medical bills and a life that has been turned inside-out.
There are multiple factors that can contribute to a semi-truck crash. The trucking company, truck owner, vehicle or parts manufacturer, cargo loading company, maintenance contractor, or even a government agency could be liable for a trucking accident.
Other factors in tractor-trailers accidents include:
- Drowsy Driving: Although unadvisable, truck operators often drive for long hours including overnight. Driving while fatigued or sleep-deprived has a direct effect on drivers’ attention spans and decision-making abilities and can result in serious accidents while they are out on the roadway.
- Failure to Yield: According to Utah law, all drivers are required to obey traffic lights and signs. Crashes often occur that are caused by drivers failing to obey the rules regarding rights of way for pedestrians and other drivers.
- Mechanical Failure: There are many cases when a part fails to function the way it was meant to. A defective truck part, like faulty brakes, can easily lead to a truck accident. For this reason, it is important that tractor-trailers be subjected to routine maintenance by a qualified professional before it is driven on the roadway.
- Driving Under the Influence: Drunk driving is another frequent cause of tractor-trailer crashes. In fact, drunk driving is a leading cause of accidents among all types of vehicles.
- Operator Error: Accidents stemming from operator error are quite common. Just like the driver of a passenger vehicle, truck operators can make accident-causing mistakes behind the wheel. These errors can be the result of driving too fast, reckless or unlawful driving behaviors, driver distractions, and many other reasons.
In these and other scenarios, injured victims may be able to hold the negligent party liable for their injuries.
If you were injured in a truck accident, contact our Utah tractor-trailer accident attorneys at (801) 350-3506 to schedule a free claim evaluation and find out how we can help you.
The Salt Lake City tractor-trailer collision attorneys at Jardine Law Offices P.C. P. C., work diligently to ensure their clients see justice done by effectively securing the full amount of compensation as supported by their claims.
Notes: The details and information utilized to create this post were gathered through the use of secondary sources. The details surrounding this accident have not been independently verified by the writing staff at Jardine Law Offices P.C.. These sources include but are not limited to newspaper stories, local news sources, local and state police reports, and eyewitness accounts about serious accidents that take place in Farmington and Salt Lake City, Utah. If you locate any information that is inaccurate, please contact us right away so that we can update the post with the most accurate information available. If you would like the post to be removed, please let us know and we will remove it as soon as possible.
Disclaimers:The attorneys at Jardine Law Offices P.C. have worked hard through the years to build a solid business reputation in the community. We write about these serious incidents to bring awareness about the dangers associated with driving in hopes that our fellow community members will use an abundance of caution when operating a motor vehicle and avoid being involved in a serious accident themselves. This story is not intended to be a solicitation for business. The information provided in this post should not be misconstrued as medical or legal advice. The photos used in this post are not taken from the scene of this accident.