This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah Department of Transportation employee was in serious condition Thursday after a semi-trailer smashed into his truck on the shoulder of Interstate 80 in Summit County, authorities said.
Morgan McCarthey, a UDOT station supervisor, was in serious condition but was expected to survive after the 11 a.m. collision at the Jeremy Ranch exit, department spokesman John Gleason said.
Three UDOT workers had just exited their trucks on the westbound shoulder of the freeway, planning to conduct a bridge inspection, when a semi-trailer driver for an unknown reason veered onto the shoulder and smashed into the last UDOT truck, Gleason said. McCarthey was struck by the rearmost UDOT truck and thrown into another one, he said.
The semi came to a halt between the freeway and the on-ramp. The driver was uninjured. Two of the UDOT trucks sustained heavy damage.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said the semi-trailer was about halfway into the emergency lane when the collision occurred. Investigators were examining whether speed or distracted driving was a factor in the crash, he said.
Royce and Gleason urged drivers to move over for UDOT workers and law enforcement working next to freeways.
"When something like this happens, it's a sobering reminder that we have so many workers out on the road, and it only takes a moment of distraction for something terrible like this to happen," Gleason said.
Twitter: @lramseth