Utah County deputy, motorist injured in crash

BIRDSEYE, Utah County — A Utah County sheriff's deputy remained hospitalized Wednesday, a day after his patrol car was rear-ended as he attempted to pull over a speeding vehicle.

The crash occurred about noon Tuesday on U.S. Highway 89 near Birdseye, said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Cameron Roden.

The deputy was driving south when he spotted a speeding car traveling north and attempted to make a U-turn to pull the car over, Roden said. But as he pulled from the shoulder onto the roadway, the deputy failed to see a pickup truck in his blind spot, Roden said, and turned into the path of the vehicle.

"The officer had his lights on so the individual should have slowed down and yielded to the lights, but the officer also should have cleared his blind spot," Roden said.

The investigating trooper found that both motorists shared fault in the crash but chose not to issue any citations.

The driver of the pickup, a 65-year-old Mount Pleasant woman, was transported to Mountain View Hospital in fair condition.

The deputy was taken Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in fair condition, where he was held overnight because of a minor head injury, said Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon. The deputy was expected to spend another night in the hospital as a precaution, he said.

— Geoff Liesik