This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For the 15th time this year, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper investigating an accident scene ended up as part of a crash during Friday morning's snow-clogged commute.
UHP Cpl. Todd Johnson said that this time the trooper was not hurt when an out-of-control Honda Accord scraped his cruiser before slamming head-on into a Ford Ranger that had been involved in an earlier accident the trooper was investigating.
The incident occurred at 7:34 a.m. in the northbound HOV lane of Interstate 15 near 800 North in Orem. The trooper was inside his unit at the time and was not injured, though he did complain of mild back pain on the wake of the crash.
The driver of the Honda Accord was not reported injured.
Orem police are investigating the crash. No citations were immediately issued.
Johnson said that at 15, just two months into 2013, the number of UHP trooper-involved crashes at accident scene investigations already tops the total of 12 set in 2012.
Before Friday's crash, the last such incident involving a UHP trooper occurred on Feb. 12. That trooper, also seated inside his vehicle at an I-15 accident scene in Utah County, sustained minor injuries.
UHP on Friday once again urged motorists to slow down and be aware of road conditions and accident scenes during bad weather.
More than 150 weather-related crashes and slideoffs were recorded during Friday morning's storm along the Wasatch Front.
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