MAYBELL, Colorado, June 11, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah high school girls basketball team was involved in a rollover traffic accident on the way to a tournament.
Luckily, only one person was injured, and minimally, in the Friday mishap after the vehicle was “briefly airborne,” according to a social media post Saturday night by the school district.
“A Uintah High School student-athlete was treated for a minor injury after a district-owned SUV she was riding in was involved in a rollover crash Friday in Colorado,” the post said.
“The Uintah High girls basketball team was headed to a tournament in Craig, Colorado, when the crash happened,” according to Uintah Schools Superintendent Rick Woodford.
The team was traveling in two SUVs near Maybell, Colorado, when they encountered a slow-moving tractor-trailer truck with its flashers activated.
Two vehicles – including the first SUV – passed the slow-moving truck without incident, the superintendent said. As the UHS staff member driving the second team SUV tried to pass, the driver of the slow-moving truck began to turn left onto a side road.
The UHS staff member tried to avoid a collision with the truck and ended up going off the road, Woodford said. The SUV hit an embankment, briefly went airborne, landed on its roof, and slid to a stop, the superintendent said.
The driver and six student-athletes in the SUV were wearing seat belts. One student-athlete was treated for a cut to the head before being released to her parents.
“This was an unfortunate accident that could have been much worse,” Woodford said. “We’re very grateful no one was seriously hurt.”
