LEEDS — The driver of a service truck carrying fuel escaped injury when the vehicle blew a right front tire and veered off northbound Interstate 15 north of Leeds Tuesday morning.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers responded to an initial report of a rollover near a construction zone close to mile marker 25 just after 10:30 a.m.
They located the truck off of the right shoulder of the interstate sitting upright with the tires wedged deep into the soft shoulder but did not roll, Utah Highway Trooper Austin Ipson said.
The driver told responders his front tire blew out causing the truck to veer sharply to the right and across the partially paved section of the highway under construction.
The truck continued until it came to rest after plowing into the low, dirt embankment with the right front tire jammed at an angle. Fiberglass pieces and debris scattered across the construction lane without littering any travel lanes.
Ipson said “the driver did everything right” when the tire blew.
The driver was traveling at 65 mph when the blowout occurred, according to the officer, enabling him to maintain control of the truck as it veered off the interstate.
“He had his seat belt on and kept control of the vehicle so it wouldn’t go back into traffic,” Ipson said.
No highway workers were in the vicinity at the time of the incident and no other vehicles were involved.
No citations were issued.
This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
St. George News reporter Cody Blowers contributed to this report.
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The driver escaped injury when his fuel truck blew a tire and ran off Interstate north of Leeds, Utah, May 29, 2018. | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The driver escaped injury when his fuel truck blew a tire and ran off Interstate north of Leeds, Utah, May 29, 2018. | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News A piece of fiberglass from a service truck that blew a tire and ran off Interstate 15 north of Leeds, Utah, May 29, 2018. | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The driver escaped injury when his fuel truck blew a tire and ran off Interstate north of Leeds, Utah, May 29, 2018. | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The driver escaped injury when his fuel truck blew a tire and ran off Interstate north of Leeds, Utah, May 29, 2018. | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The shredded tire from a fuel truck that blew a tire and ran off Interstate 15 north of Leeds, Utah, May 29, 2018. | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News The driver escaped injury when his fuel truck blew a tire and ran off Interstate north of Leeds, Utah, May 29, 2018. | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News
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Not to contradict what trooper Ipson said but the driver did not do everything right. Kudos to the driver for keeping in wheels side down but I have seen several drivers that have blown steer tires and simply made it to the right shoulder and waited to get the tire replaced. If the driver had done everything right he would have actually maintained control and stayed on the road not causing further damage to the vehicle.
Yawn!!
shoulda
woulda
coulda
Kudos to the driver! It sounds like he really did do everything right, just as the officer said. It’d be tough to deal with that situation anyway, much less in a construction zone. Nice job.
Did everything right????? Why not get new tires or tires checked.. if he had been near a gorge or ravine, going off the road with his weighs would have ended differently.
I would have thought lower speeds would be in order in a construction zone.