Deseret News | Man dies in fiery crash that shuts down I-80 for 4 hours

Reader comments
Man dies in fiery crash that shuts down I-80 for 4 hours

JW | 1:43 p.m. June 13, 2009

Near Wendover? Not quite.

Dan | 5:44 p.m. June 13, 2009

2 miles east of the Tooele exit

Billie | 8:51 p.m. June 13, 2009

My cousin is tied up in this mess in his semi and I talked to him via phone at 7:30 pm and he was still waiting to move on west. Are you sure there are lanes open on I-80?

Comments continue below

Catherine | 9:51 p.m. June 13, 2009

I was there. We were stopped in the traffic about 100 yards back from the point of impact. What a mess. Flames leaping into the air, deep black smoke that lasted for over an hour. You hate to see such devastation. When the two Medivac Helicopters landed there was some hope that all had not perished. It took us 5 hours longer to return to Salt Lake than we had planned, but in the end all it cost us was time out of our vacation and some frustration... pretty good considering how close we were to being right in the middle of it. We consider ourselves blessed and our thoughts are with the other families who were not so lucky.

Chris | 9:55 p.m. June 13, 2009

I just passed West Bound I80 an hour ago and it was moving really slow and backed up for about 2 miles. It is getting better slowly.

Lola | 10:34 p.m. June 13, 2009

How awful. My deep sympathy tp the family of the driver of the Durango.

Anonymous | 11:17 p.m. June 13, 2009

Can anyone remember the dirty white truck or the license?

Anonymous | 12:18 a.m. June 14, 2009

condolences to the family & friends of the driver.

Triple rig w/explosives? | 5:07 a.m. June 14, 2009

It's surprising that more vehicles weren't involved with more deaths and injuries along that stretch. This just goes to show you never know when your end will come by a string of random events. What they want the white pickup for is still unclear, maybe he was avoiding the SUV as it may have already been out of control. With little information and vehicle description it only makes the assumption that the pickup caused the accident.

But I wonder why a triple rig was being used to haul explosives. I think the fire and exploding bullets made it difficult and risky for fire fighters. It would seem that explosives should be under more controlled transport.

Every time I've seen a triple rig on the road it looks out of control and spooky to drive. These triple rigs have the trailers all tracking and swerving constantly and it makes you wonder when one will break loose. I know it saves money on transportation costs, but at the same time it triples the losses and compounds events in an emergency stop.

Jim P | 6:06 a.m. June 14, 2009

channel 4 reported a witness, who was a documentary film maker, saw it "unfolding" and filmed it....however do not know if his video included the pickup truck which allegedly started the whole thing.

Anon | 6:37 a.m. June 14, 2009

How sad. The Fed-ex truck had three trailers-wow. One trailer is bad enough-two is dumb and three is insane. Looks like the state needs to change the law and get back to only one trailer. Might not have caused the wreck but it certainly didn't help in controlling the truck and keeping it from going head on into the Durango.

Anonymous | 8:42 a.m. June 14, 2009

From what I am understanding, the Fed Ex truck was not responsible for the accident. My son drives for the company and does drive doubles and triples. He contends that doubles or triples track quite straight and that the drivers of this particular company have to be certified and trained to drive this particular transporting system. He also states that the trailers track very straight. But, if the economy does not pickup, we will not have to worry about triple haulers because there will not be enough product sold to the public due to the lack of spending ability.

bogusjoe | 8:56 a.m. June 14, 2009

I think it is time to look at the use of triple trailers.They were safer and reasonable 30 years ago,but Utah and northern Nevada have grown to be quite busy on the roads now.It is time to eleminate doubles and triples.I do not know if the truck driver could have made a differance with just one big long trailer in this case but I do know I worry a bit extra when I pass a triple on the road as it wiggles like a snake,especialy in the wind.Trucks also need some kind of better flaps or trailer fenders.they compleatly blind most cars in a rain storm.

Danny | 8:58 a.m. June 14, 2009

Don't see how the traffic was moving so slow. It took 2.5 hours to get home from about 8400 W to Tooele. That stretch would take about 5 minutes normally. When I finally passed the site of the accident, there were no cleanup crews, debris, or emergency vehicles. Both lanes were open. Yet at times I sat on I-80 not moving for 20-30 minutes before finally getting to move 100 feet to just sit again. Bizarre...

Lori Dunstan | 9:10 a.m. June 14, 2009

The accident did not happened because the semi was a triple. Someone lost their life because of a careless driver cutting another car off.

FX Driver | 9:14 a.m. June 14, 2009

Drivers that haul doubles and triples have extra training (endorsements). The fact that they had triples means there was a local drop off point for another out of state team. I'm sure the Fedex driver did the best he could given his situation. I should know I haul the same freight.Prayers out to both families.

Concerned Driver | 10:04 a.m. June 14, 2009

If you happen to see a dangerous driver (like every time you are on the road) you can report them by calling the UHP dispatch, 801-887-3800.

Somebody | 10:09 a.m. June 14, 2009

Such a tragic accident. My deepest sympathy goes out to the family of the SUV. My prayers go out to the semi-driver for a speedy recovery. It is sad to know that two people and their families lives have been forever changed do to someones impatients and lack of human compassion. Is it really so hard to think of others and what our actions might do to the people around us. Even if this person who caused this horrific accident seems to slip through the hands of justice. They will have to live in the knowledge that their actions have taken away anothers life, and has scarred another mans forever..... God bless these victims and their families.

cmc | 11:16 a.m. June 14, 2009

I am sad that a person lost their life in this accident, the party a fault is the one that caused the accident. The size and weight of the truck has no bearing on the accident. I am a truck driver and it makes no difference if doubles were being pulled or a 53 ft trailer the weight limits are the same. 80,000 lbs. Pulling triples you are at 105,000 lbs.

Professional drivers are trained to do all they can to avoid an accident. In this case a vehicle coming straight for you does not give a driver much reaction time. If a head on were coming for me while driving I would take the truck off the road to avoid the accident just because of the sheer mass and weight difference 5,000 lbs vs. 80,000 lbs plus.
Stay with the issue here.
1. Get the agressive drivers off the road
2. Have respect for the trucks on the road. driving a truck is different than driving a car and just the size and weight doesn't make it like driving a car.

Everything in your daily life is delivered by a truck somewhere,sometime,somehow.

Professional Driver | 4:23 p.m. June 14, 2009

For all of you posting about how bad truck drivers are, and how dangerous they can be, you need to understand something. Truck drivers are some of the safest and most trained in what they do. The problem lies with the motoring public...the aggresive drivers are the problem. I was at this accident and saw the aftermath of what you as the "public" deem as the FX drivers fault. The length or the weight of this vehicle had NOTHING to do with this accident. It was because someone felt that they had drive faster and more aggresive than the person in front of them. What is so important in your lives that you feel you need to drive like such idiots??? We are trained to handle these massive vehicles, but we are NOT the problem. Please take a look at your own driving habits and then reconsider your thoughts and harsh criticism of a professional driver. My heart goes to the family of the victim, especially seeing what he had to go through. Please people, slow down...life is too short to have things like this happen.

Anonymous | 9:42 a.m. June 15, 2009

My prayers go out to both drivers. I too was hit headon crash by a drunk driver, and believe me front end collisions are very scary. You have basically no time to react other then hit the brakes to try and lessen the speed of impact. The drunk who hit me was a 8-time offender, the trooper said that he "knew him well". Hopefully they find the low life nothing who was driving the pickup. He probably was drunk or had other major infractions and thats why he left the scene. The truck driver did absolutely nothing wrong. FedEx has very safe drivers. Big rigs are not unsafe, but many cars create unsafe conditions around trucks by cutting out in front of them, or hitting their brakes, pasing in no-passing zones, etc. These are the drivers who need to be gotten off the road. I just pray that the driver of the car didn't have to suffer.

26yr old trucker | 11:28 a.m. June 15, 2009

I agree to Professional up there. Ive been driving now professionally for 5 years now, and its just another day in the life pretty much. I used to drive for fedex ground. I pulled the triple trailers sometimes. I tell u one thing though, u learn how to keep the steering wheel straight. About 10% ( in my experience ) of all truck related accidents are caused by the truck driver. We drive hundreds of miles a day, i personally have 475,000 miles, and they are all safe. Someone that drives thier own car everyday, dont put the kind of miles that we do in a day. look at that statistic, we are the safest drivers out there. We have to be in order to do our job right. To all you others, thank a trucker for what they do every day out there. Delivering the country's goods, being away from home for weeks, sometimes months at a time. I thank god after every day is done that i kept that rig safe on the road. My thoughts and prayers go out to the driver of the pickup, and the truck driver's family.

Tooele Resident & FedEx employee | 11:31 a.m. June 17, 2009

First off, the FedEx driver was on the completly other side of the Interstate! He wasn't the one that hit the SUV head on. The SUV went across the median and hit the FedEx driver. My husband is a driver and also contends, it doesn't really matter if you're hauling one 53 foot trailer or 3 pups, you're still not going to be able to avoid someone hurtling them selves at you head on. They just can't stop that fast or swirve that quick. The other guy in the white truck may not have been the cause, he stated that the SUV flew up on him and acted irraduculy when he couldn't move out of the way quick enough. We were stuck in this mess later that afternoon. Not a pretty site :( and people can ship bullets, how do you think they get to your store? Bullets are explosive when they catch fire.

benny | 6:04 a.m. June 20, 2009

First of all a semi with no trailers [bobtail] is more difficult to control than is a doubles- triples combo. Second, I believe two passenger vehicles caused this accident. Third I get very upset when folks say they get nervous around doubles and triples. I know that in heavy traffic the most dangerous drivers are you four wheelers late for work, or going home from work usually while on the phone. So please think logically before you pass your uneducated judgements down the line!

phyllis | 6:40 p.m. June 23, 2009

what to hear something interesting?
I just called fedex (6/23) to research a package not delivered since origin date of 6/12 -- they had no knowledge of any fire which might have destroyed cargo!!!!!!!!!!

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5 photos

Michael Brandy, Deseret News

Firefighter walks past burned wreckage of Dodge Dakota that collided with a FedEx semitruck Saturday on I-80 near the Salt Lake-Tooele border, killing the driver of the Dakota and injuring the FedEx driver. The fiery crash shut down I-80 in both directions for four hours.

Gallery (5 photos)