MAGNA, Utah, April 26, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Some 60,000 pounds of tires got loose on a state highway Wednesday after the semi-truck hauling them rolled over.
The semi and its flatbed trailer hauling six of the giant tires lost control when it struck a concrete barrier as it entered State Road 201 eastbound from the northbound Mountain View Corridor, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
The truck overturned as it entered the on-ramp and all six 10,000-pound tires, used in mining operations, were thrown from the flatbed in the 11 a.m. mishap. The truck and trailer and four of the tires ended up on a hillside.
But two of the 12-foot-tall, 5-ton tires came to rest on eastbound SR-201, one spanning a lane and the other blocking the median on the two-lane stretch.
No people or vehicles were hit as the tires bounced, rolled or skidded.
“I couldn’t tell you if they bounced,” UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said.
Rush hour was over at the time, he said, and “basically no one was there when they came down.”
Roughly 100 gallon of diesel fuel also spilled. With that and the heavy wreckers needed to haul the monster tires, the northbound Mountain View Corridor ramp was closed for six hours, Roden said.
The driver of the semi was transported to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
