A runaway truck crashed through an intersection on Tuesday for the first time since the installation of a runaway truck ramp, Utah Department of Transportation says.
The accident happened on May 17th in Garden City at the US Highway 89 intersection with Bear Lake Boulevard – a location that used to see truck crashes every year, inspiring the installation of a truck ramp a year and a half ago.
“He [the trucker] looked fine. He just looked in shock,” said Jeremiah Sindar, who was working nearby at the time of the crash, to KSL News. “He just said that he lost his brakes.”
While there is a brake check on top of the mountain along Highway 89 and a runaway truck ramp partway down the mountain, officers say that this trucker lost his brakes after the ramp and safety check.
“He said he started to realize about two blocks up that he wasn’t able to brake,” said Jesse Dunn, a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol.
“The driver did tell us that he had stopped at the brake check before entering the canyon,” added Sgt. Chris Turley with the Utah Highway Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Inspection.
No one was hurt in the accident, which residents say is some sort of miracle. However, some are concerned that the next runaway truck incident will not end so well with the booming city becoming more and more crowded.
“It’s a miracle every time,” said Norm Mecham, who has worked and lived in Garden City for 30 years. “You just come away from it going, I don’t know how it happens without someone dying in the intersection.”
UHP is still investigating the crash.