ECHO, Utah, Jan. 12, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A teen was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital Thursday night after he was hit by a truck while stopped alongside a road on his four-wheeler.
The youth had turned off his vehicle to dim the noise while making a phone call, meaning his headlights were off, Summit County Sheriff‘s spokesman Capt. Andrew Wright said. He and a friend were at the roadside on their four-wheelers when he was hit by a pick-up truck from behind.
He was launched in the air “a significant distance,” Wright said, by the impact in the accident along or possibly on the frontage road known as Echo Road that runs adjacent to Interstate 84 near the town of Echo.
He may have unknowingly actually been in the roadway and not on the shoulder of the road, the captain said, like his companion, who was unhurt.
He told deputies his friend was trying to call his mother on his cell phone at the time of the collision, Wright said. It is not known if the call went through.
Officers have notified the parents of the injured teen, believed to be 14-years old, whose name was not being released. He was transported by Air Med to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
Both boys, Summit County residents, were wearing helmets, Wright said. The truck driver suffered minor injuries from tools thrown about in the truck cab from the impact. He stopped and was cooperating with the investigation, Wright said. “He’s very distraught.”
Officers were still on scene at 9 p.m. conducting their investigation of the crash dispatched at 6 p.m. The town of Echo is roughly 30 miles northeast of Park City.
