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Winter storm: Utah deputy hit by out-of-control semitrailer truck; Interstate 15 closed between Weber and Box Elder County

  | Feb. 5, 2019, 2:57 p.m.
| Updated: 8:37 p.m.

A winter storm is causing congestion and collisions on Utah roads Tuesday, as Utah Highway Patrol troopers report multiple crashes and semitrailer truck slide-offs, including at least one case where a deputy was injured at a crash site.

A Rich County deputy was at the scene of semitrailer wreck on State Road 30 near Laketown Canyon, south of Bear Lake, when another semitrailer lost control and struck the deputy. That semitrailer later ran into some rocks and stopped, according to UHP.

The deputy and semitrailer driver were seriously injured but both are expected to recover. Troopers have since closed the canyon.

UHP said crashes involving “several” semitrailer trucks forced troopers to close Interstate 15 at the Weber and Box Elder County line Tuesday afternoon.

In the pre-dawn hours Tuesday, about 15 semitrailer trucks spun out on Interstate 15 near Cedar City, closing the freeway’s northbound lanes for about three hours, UHP said.

UHP reported on its Twitter feed that the semis were traveling too fast for the winter weather. None of the trucks crashed, but they jackknifed or slid partway or fully off the road. The interstate was reopened around 8 a.m.

The National Weather Service reports snow started falling in the Cedar City area around 2:30 Tuesday morning, and a winter weather advisory is in place until at least 4 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Large portions of Utah are also expected to get snow in the next 48 hours. The weather service is issuing winter storm warnings from now through 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Wasatch Mountains, the western Uintas, and the Wasatch Plateau and Book Cliffs areas. Winter weather advisories are being called now through 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Park City and Heber City areas, and from noon Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday along the Wasatch Front, Tooele, Utah Valley and central Utah Mountains.

In Salt Lake City, Tuesday is expected to bring a mix of rain and snow, with temperatures in the low 40s. Overnight, more snow is forecast, with a projected high temperature Wednesday of 29 degrees.

Meanwhile, the Utah Avalanche Center has issued an avalanche warning for Utah’s backcountry, specifically the Wasatch, western Uinta and Bear River mountains, through 6 a.m. Wednesday.