Man in fair condition after being thrown from truck bed in Bangerter Highway accident

WEST VALLEY CITY — A man was in fair condition after being ejected from the bed of a pickup truck in a Sunday morning accident involving four vehicles on Bangerter Highway.

The truck was between two other vehicles waiting to turn west off the highway onto 4100 South when another driver approaching the intersection apparently did not immediately see the stopped traffic, West Valley Police Lt. Dale Brophy said.

That driver swerved, sideswiping the car behind the truck before rear-ending the truck, which struck the fourth car involved, Brophy said. The impact threw a man who was riding in the bed of the pickup truck onto the highway.

The man, who is believed to be in his 40s, was treated on the scene and transported to a hospital in fair condition. Brophy said no one else involved in the accident was taken the hospital, but the driver of the sideswiped car suffered whiplash.

The accident is still under investigation, he said, but the man who was ejected from the bed of the pickup truck was not breaking any laws.

"It's legal to ride in the bed of a pickup truck. Smart? No. Legal? Yes," Brophy said. "There are no safety restraints in the back of a pickup truck. Therefore, you're fair game if you get in an accident."

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