Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – One person was killed and another seriously injured in a head-on truck accident Wednesday morning, August 18, on a highway in Salt Lake County, Utah. The deadly collision on Interstate 215 caused the semi trailer to burst into flames and filled the air with smoke which could be seen for miles around Salt Lake City. The truck accident area is in the north-central section of the state about 45 miles north of Provo, UT and about 110 miles south of Preston, Idaho.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning 51 year old truck driver Kulwinder Singh of Livermore, California was driving a semi trailer truck west on Interstate 215 in Salt Lake County, UT. The trailer was reportedly filled with a load of ham.

At the same time 71 year old Donald Swenson of Sandy, UT was driving a Toyota Camry east on the interstate. According to a witness Mr. Swenson had entered eastbound I-215 at Union Park. A moment after entering the interstate Mr. Swenson suddenly did a U-Turn and was driving the wrong way in the westbound lanes, directly in the path of oncoming traffic.

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At about 9:45 a.m. near 2300 East, the truck driver saw the wrong-way Toyota headed for his 18 wheeler. Mr. Singh was unable to swerve out of the way and the trailer truck slammed full force into the Toyota Camry. After hitting the car the semi trailer truck jackknifed and flipped over on its side. The Toyota came to a rest a few hundred feet from the 18 wheeler.

The force of the head-on truck accident punctured one of the semi trailer’s fuel tanks and it burst into flames. Fed by the gas, the fire spread fast, engulfing the 18 wheeler truck and reaching the crushed Toyota Camry. Fiery black smoke filled the air and could be seen for several miles in the surrounding valley. Witnesses reported hearing several load explosions right after the truck accident.

Salt Lake City firefighters and emergency personnel rushed to the scene of the truck accident. Fire teams battled the flaming wreckage of the semi trailer and Toyota while EMTs worked to save the victims. The driver of the Toyota, Mr. Swenson, suffered fatal injuries in the head-on collision and officials believed he died on impact.

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Mr. Singh, the driver of the semi, sustained multiple injuries in the truck accident. Several drivers on the interstate stopped and helped extricate the truck driver from the cab of his rig. He was treated and stabilized at the scene and then transported to Intermountain Medical Center. He was reported to be in critical condition with a punctured lung and lacerations to his head.

Utah Highway Patrol cordoned off an area around the truck accident scene while firefighters tried to extinguish the flames which had spread into the brush in the area alongside the interstate. For a time the fire posed a potential threat to nearby homes however the truck fire was extinguished before reaching any of the houses.

The area of the interstate was closed for several hours while highway crews cleared the collision site. The semi was destroyed in the truck accident and subsequent fire and would have to be towed from the scene. All but one westbound lane were reopened by Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities reconstructing the truck accident believe it was caused by the Toyota traveling east in the westbound lanes.  They have not determined why the man was driving the wrong way. At least one witness called 911 and reported that after the Toyota driver entered the westbound lanes he was driving erratically on the interstate, at times traveling at 80 mph and then suddenly down to 10 mph. He was also reportedly driving in the median before entering the pathway of the semi truck.

No charges have been brought and the truck accident remains under investigation.

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