UTAH COUNTY — First responders are calling a crash on Sunday morning along I-15 in Pleasant Grove “a real near-miss” after multiple vehicles spun out of control, hitting others that were parked along the freeway.
Pleasant Grove Fire Department and Utah Highway Patrol responded to an accident involving a single vehicle. A chain of events followed where multiple vehicles ended up hitting other vehicles parked to assist the victims of the initial crash.
“We started having heavy, heavy traffic that was traveling 70, 80 miles an hour,” said Pleasant Grove Fire Department Captain Kyle Hardy, who responded to the incident. “We were getting slush thrown at us, we actually even had some of our cones that were hit by passing cars.”
Hardy says they’re always prepared to respond to calls on I-15 during snowstorms, but there’s nothing that could prepare them for an incident involving multiple vehicles heading directly toward his fellow firefighters.
“The only thing I could think of throughout that process are, 'Are my guys OK?'” said Hardy. “We didn’t know if we had any firefighters down on the ground, so that was our number one concern was 'Let’s get these people taken care of and make sure that everybody’s safe.'”
Utah’s "Move Over" law is in place to give first responders room while responding to incidents along roadways.
“People are in such a hurry to get where they’re going that they don’t realize the danger they’re putting themselves and everyone else in by driving so quickly,” said Sgt. Jeffrey Dutson with Utah Highway Patrol. “Every single state has a law that says you’re required to move over and slow down, so it really don’t matter what state you’re in — the danger’s still there.”
Sgt. Dutson says he’s been hit a few times during snowstorms.
“Please move over for us. It’s incredibly dangerous. We all have families we want to go home to each night,” Sgt. Dutson said to a motorist who he pulled over for not following the "move over" law.
