A video comprised of multiple dash cameras, surveillance camera, and body camera sources shows a runaway semi-truck crashing into over 32 cars and injuring 11 people before crashing into a car dealership and starting a fire last Friday.
According to KSL 5, the runaway semi-truck crashed into dozens of vehicles at multiple road intersections on Friday in Tooele, Utah, before it eventually crashed into a car dealership and started a fire.
KSL 5 reported that the semi-truck incident resulted in 11 people receiving injuries, as well as the destruction of at least 32 cars.
“How this didn’t end up in a fatality is shocking,” Tooele Police Department Lt. Jeremy Hansen said. Hansen told KSL 5 that one woman who was critically injured in the accident was expected to survive her injuries.
According to KSL 5, the video, comprised of multiple different types of camera footage, shows the first crash involving the semi-truck and three cars at the Vine and Main Street intersection. The footage also shows the semi-truck attempting to drive past cars stopped at a red light, a second crash involving the semi-truck and two cars at 400 N. Main Street, the semi-truck flipping cars into the air, and the truck crashing into the Tooele Motor Company parking lot, which resulted in the building catching on fire.
Hansen told KSL 5 that he was a witness to a significant part of Friday’s semi-truck incident, as both he and his partner were stuck in traffic as they were returning to the police station after an unrelated police call. While stuck in traffic, Hansen and his partner watched as the semi-truck flipped cars into the air before it smashed into the Tooele Motor Company parking lot.
READ MORE: Video: 8 dead, 63 injured in 168-vehicle crash
After the crash, Hansen ran to check on the driver of the semi-truck, who was able to walk away from both the crash and the fire. “I didn’t think there was any way the driver made it out of that,” Hansen said.
Hansen applauded the local community for working together to save those who were injured in the runaway semi-truck incident and for working to limit the destruction of the fire caused by the crash.
“This spread is super thin, so for the community to come together, seeing the citizens grab the first-aid kits out of their vehicles and start rendering aid while we’re waiting for fire units to respond, the ambulances to respond, we had Dugway Fire, North Tooele Fire, Mountain West, Gold Cross even helped to come to the hospital afterward to transfer patients out, this was a community effort between all first-responders,” Hansen stated. “We’ve never had an accident of this scale in the city in my 17 years here.”
According to Hansen, the accident appears to have been caused by the semi-truck’s brakes failing; however, KSL 5 reported that state investigators are continuing to review the incident.
Regardless of the cause, Hansen expressed his gratitude that the major accident did not result in the loss of life. “We’re truly blessed it wasn’t worse than what it was,” he said.
