MAGNA — Emergency personnel transported five people to the hospital late Tuesday night after three cars collided on a dark road in Magna while apparently attempting to swerve around a large bale of hay that had fallen in the road.

A total of six individuals were involved in the accident; five were transported to the hospital. A mother and her 5-year-old daughter, whose Ford Explorer hit a Jeep Wrangler head on, were reported to be in "serious to critical condition," Salt Lake County sheriff's officials said at the scene.

A small crew was working to unload half-ton sized hay bales from a flatbed semitrailer parked at the side of the road. The crew was using a forklift to unload the bales on the side opposite of the traffic. But when one bale inadvertently fell off the truck onto the other side during the unloading process, it landed in the westbound lane of 2820 West.

"(The bale) just sat there for some time," said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Jason Hunter, who lives in the area and who heard the bale hit the pavement. "It was probably sitting there for over an hour."

Hunter said the crew posted an orange flag to direct traffic around the bale, even after it started getting dark after 8 p.m.

That's when tragedy struck. About 8:30 p.m. the westbound Explorer driven by the mother and "more than one child" inside swerved around the bale and into the oncoming lane where it collided with the eastbound Jeep. The head-on impact sent the Jeep off the side of the road. A Chevy Malibu traveling west behind the Explorer rear-ended the Explorer, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Barker said.

The driver of the Jeep was taken to Pioneer Valley Hospital in stable condition.

"We don't think speed was really a contributing factor," Barker said. "But it's a dark road and the bale on the road is dark. Those are certainly factors here. It's sad."

As of Tuesday night, sheriff's officials said they don't believe citations will be issued to the hay crew, whom they believe were "doing the best they could" under the circumstances. Barker said the Salt Lake County Major Accident team — which was at the scene due to its severity — will review the investigation with the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office in the coming days to determine if any charges are warranted.

Sheriff's officials would not release the names of any of the accident victims Tuesday night.

— Jacob Hancock