SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 14, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A semi-truck hit three cars then entered traffic going the wrong way Friday night, rear-ending the Trooper’s vehicle that finally stopped it.
The events on 1-80 near Summit Park began about 6:30 p.m. when the truck driver had side-swiped three vehicles while properly eastbound, said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Chris Bishop, a public information officer.
When a UHP trooper finally caught up with the trucker, he said, the driver then entered the westbound lanes of !-80.
The trooper followed, eventually having to pull in front of the semi in order to get the trucker to pull over, Bishop said, at which point the truck rear-ended the trooper’s cruiser during the stop. Damage to it and the other three cars was minor, he said, and no injuries resulted.
“The trooper really put his life on the line out there, getting in front of a speeding semi like that,” Bishop told Gephardt Daily. The driver was arrested and likely faces drunk driving and other charges.
It wasn’t clear if the semi driver saw or was attempting to elude the trooper when he drove into traffic going the wrong way, Bishop said. “Whatever his motivations were, we’re just glad we got him stopped. Damage could have been monumental.”
