Cottonwood Heights woman injured when car hits parked semi

SANDY — A Cottonwood Heights woman is in critical condition after her car collided with a parked semitrailer on 1300 East near 9000 South about 6 a.m. Saturday.

Sandy Police Sgt. Victor Quezada said the 26-year-old woman was traveling about 45 mph in a Dodge Neon when the car drifted into the trailer. The force of the impact propelled the woman's car another 97 feet down the road and somehow ejected the engine from the car's frame.

Quezada said the semitrailer was parked legally, and police do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved.

The airbag in the vehicle deployed, but the woman wasn't wearing a seat belt, Quezada said. The woman suffered broken bones, and he said she is lucky she wasn't more seriously injured.

"Hitting anything at 45 mph without a seat belt is a dangerous situation," Quezada said. "She's very lucky."

— Clayton Norlen