CEDAR CITY – Emergency responders airlifted a 36-year-old Cedar City man to the hospital Tuesday after he was injured during a construction project overseen by the Utah Department of Transportation.
The accident occurred off Interstate 15 at Exit 42 at a UDOT garage where dump trucks and supplies are stored.
At the time of the accident around 3:45 p.m. UDOT employees were running heavy equipment while paving a driveway in front of the garage.
In an effort to get out of the way of the asphalt machine that was backing up, the victim stood behind a 4-foot concrete post estimated to be 8 to 9 inches around, Iron County Sheriff’s Cpl. Jeff Humphries said.
The driver of the 8-foot piece of heavy equipment however, did not see the pillar or the man. The machine hit the post, pushing it into the UDOT employee and ultimately pinning him between the post and the front wall of the garage.
“The victim thought he was getting out of the way but he didn’t realize that the driver was too high to see him or the post when he backed up so he wasn’t in a safe position,” Humphries said.
The victim suffered serious injuries but was conscious and alert when transported by Lifeflight to the hospital, Humphries said.
Authorities were not sure whether he was taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George or a hospital further south in Las Vegas, Nevada. The name of the victim had not been released at the time of publication.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The DOT garage where the driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News The driver of a paving machine backed up Tuesday into a concrete post where a man stood behind it, pinning him between the wall and the post. Kanarraville , Utah, Sept. 13, 2016| Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News
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