2 seriously injured by steel beam in construction accident at the University of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY— Two men were seriously injured Monday when they lost control of a steel beam they were unloading for construction on a building at the University of Utah.

A third man sustained minor injuries in the accident.

Around 9:23 a.m. the men were working on a new arts and dance building near 1825 E. South Campus Drive, northwest of the Huntsman Center, when they dropped the beam from a truck, Salt Lake fire spokesman Jasen Asay said. One man was hit by the beam as it fell while another was pinned beneath it.

"Three other construction workers there were able to move quickly and get the beam off of him," Asay said. "That helped our crews out a lot. … They were able to treat him immediately and get him off the scene."

The two men were evaluated at the scene before being transported to a local hospital. They were classified in serious condition with one man having sustained an injury to his hip and the other man with a leg injury. A third man, who was holding the beam on the truck and fell with it, was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

— Emiley Morgan, Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam