Update: 2 severely injured, flown to hospital after crash on icy Hwy. 6 in Utah County

A tow truck driver assisting a motorist on U.S. Highway 6 in Utah County was critically injured when he was struck by another vehicle that went off the road. A passenger in that vehicle was also seriously injured. Both were transported to the hospital by helicopter, Sunday night, Jan. 27, 2019. Photo: Utah Highway Patrol

UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 28, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Two people were severely injured Sunday night on U.S. Highway 6, when a vehicle went out of control and crashed into a tow truck while the tow truck driver was assisting with another vehicle that had slid off the road.

A news release from Utah Highway Patrol says the crash occurred at about 8:06 p.m.

A UHP trooper was providing traffic control for the tow truck that was pulling a vehicle out of a ditch at Mile Marker 193. The truck was in the southbound emergency lane, according to the release.

“A northbound black vehicle came into the area, lost control, and crossed over to the opposite side of the roadway,” the release says.

The out-of-control vehicle slid into the front end of the tow truck while the tow truck driver was at the back of his truck.

The tow truck driver, a 27-year-old man, suffered broken bones in both legs and a compound fracture in one leg.

The UHP trooper applied a tourniquet to the compound fracture to stop the bleeding.

A 45-year-old woman, who was a passenger in the car, was critically injured when the front passenger area of the car crashed into the front of the tow truck.

Both the female passenger and the tow truck driver were transported to the hospital by helicopter.

Both lanes of the highway were closed to allow the two helicopters to land, and so the Utah Department of Transportation could put sand on the icy road, the news release says. The lanes were reopened just before 10 p.m.

Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.

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