2 injured when truck runs over vehicle

1 Comment | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 22, 2009

Two adults were critically injured after their pickup truck collided with a loaded gravel truck collided underneath the I-215 overpass on California Avenue Monday afternoon.

At 2:04p.m., a large double-belly gravel truck was exiting northbound I-215 at California Avenue. At the same time, a pickup truck traveling south also exited at California Avenue, said Salt Lake police detective Dennis McGowan.

As both vehicles came around the curve, the pickup truck collided with the gravel truck and may have been run over by a trailer the gravel truck was pulling, McGowan said.

The gravel truck's driver didn't realize the vehicle had hit his large rig until his truck started losing gravel from one of the trailers, he said.

Hospital officials described the pickup's passengers, Vincent Moore, 26 and Bianca Jablonski, 19, in critical condition at 11:30 p.m. Monday night. He was in worse condition than she. The couple's 6-month-old child, who had been properly restrained in a car seat that was discovered upside down on the trucks floor, escaped without injury.

Moore was flown in critical condition to University Hospital. Jablonski was taken by ambulance to a local hospital in serious condition.

The Salt Lake City Fire Department sent more than 20 emergency personnel in various special teams to handle the major incident. Beside the helicopter, thee ambulance crews also responded to treat accident victims.

Many of the roads around the accident, including I-215, California Avenue and Redwood Road, were shut down causing miles of delayed traffic that remained sluggish through rush hour.

-- Pat Reavy