Vehicle struck after driver loses control of trailer on SR-9

An accident on SR-9 in Hurricane blocked the eastbound lane of travel just after 11:10 a.m. on Friday when a trailer towing a backhoe lost control, sideswiping another vehicle. Dec. 27, 2013 | Photo by Michael Flynn, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Kanab woman traveling eastbound on state Route 9 had a scare Friday when an oncoming pickup truck, which was hauling a piece of machinery, lost control and sideswiped her car with the bucket of the machine in tow.

The accident happened just after 11:10 a.m. today, according to a statement issued by the Hurricane Police Department.

Cami Macias of Kanab and her son were driving east in a blue-green Mitsubishi Outlander on SR-9 when, she said, she noticed that an oncoming pickup truck was beginning to lose control. The truck was hauling a piece of equipment described as a backhoe (see ed. note below) on a flat trailer, which appeared to be sliding into the eastbound lane.

“We were just heading east and he was heading west,” Macias said. “I just saw him fishtailing and several of us cars started to pull over.”

The trailer swung across into her lane as it passed. Macias said the front and passenger airbags of her vehicle deployed as the trailer and the bucket (of the machinery) swiped the driver’s side of her Outlander. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the collision.

“It was pretty scary,” Macias said.

The accident blocked the eastbound lane of traffic for a short time as Hurricane Police and other emergency responders worked to clear the accident from the roadway.

The accident was still under investigation at the time of this report, and no citations have yet been issued, Hurricane Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by the police and the driver of the Outlander and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Ed. note: The machinery referred to at the scene as a backhoe, appears to be a mini-excavator based on image comparisons. Some references thereto have been so amended.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.

trailerswipe
An accident on SR-9 in Hurricane blocked the eastbound lane of travel just after 11:10 a.m. on Friday when a trailer towing a backhoe lost control, sideswiping another vehicle. Dec. 27, 2013 | Photo by Michael Flynn, St. George News

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1 Comment

  • Festus December 28, 2013 at 8:45 am

    Poorly secured load? Improperly balanced? Note tied down properly? Overloaded truck?

    Too many of these outsized earth movers being hauled around by questionable techniques and personnel.

    It was bound to happen.

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