Hwy 6 DESTROYED in Utah

[Thinker]

If any OR folks were planning on heading to the canyons around Green River you'll want to consider an alternate route...at least for a few days until they get the hole patched.

 

web page (this is a story worth reading, too.)

 

 

http://extras.sltrib.com/tribphoto/galleryPhotos.asp?GID=TRUCK_0810&sort=Gallery

 

News Story

 

Truck Carrying Explosives Blows Up in Utah

 

By JENNIFER DOBNER

The Associated Press

Thursday, August 11, 2005; 6:54 AM

 

SALT LAKE CITY -- A tractor-trailer carrying 35,500 pounds of explosives overturned and exploded on a Utah highway, injuring at least 19 people.

 

The explosion left a giant crater _ estimated to be 70 feet wide and 30 feet deep _ on U.S. 6 about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City and forced the two-lane highway's closure in both directions.

 

Several small fires were started by the explosion and flying debris.

 

"The entire road is gone, shoulder to shoulder, there's no asphalt left," said Tom Hudachko, Utah Department of Transportation spokesman.

 

Witnesses said the truck's driver appeared to lose control of the vehicle after taking a curve at high speed, Highway Patrol Lt. Doug McCleve said.

 

The driver, Travis Stewart, 30, was flown to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he was in fair condition, spokesman Chris Nelson said.

 

Troy Lysfjord, 37, was lying down in the back of the cab when the accident occurred. He told The Salt Lake Tribune that he helped Stewart out of his seat belt and they climbed out of the cab with the help of nearby motorists.

 

By that time, between 20 and 30 people had gathered around the wreckage to help and Lysfjord said he shouted, "It's explosives! Get out of here."

 

"I was close enough that it literally picked me up off my feet and threw me on the ground," he told the newspaper. "I felt it literally all the way through me."

 

Lysfjord was in fair condition at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo and was expected to be released Thursday.

 

At least 19 other people were treated for injuries at various hospitals. Others may have been injured but sought medical care on their own, authorities said.

 

The rig from R&R Trucking of Duenweg, Mo., had just left commercial explosives maker Ensign-Bickford Co. at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon when the accident happened. The truck was headed to Oklahoma, company officials said. They wouldn't say what kind of explosives the truck was carrying.

[catbirdseat]

If I were driving a truck full of explosives, I'd take corners at high speed too.

[mec]

maybe we should ban the transportation of explosives?

 

nice crater, by the way

[klenke]

maybe we should ban the transportation of explosives?

Yes, all explosives should be manufactured on site. This includes building a manufacturing site in Iraq.

 

[i know you were just joking.]

[thelawgoddess]

oops!!!

[fenderfour]

This is a strange incident since the authorities declined to comment on the type of explosive. Most modern companies use ammonium nitrate for general blasting purposes since it is very stable and produces more energy than other options.

 

I bet it was a shipment of dynamite that W planned to use to kill kittens.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Probably one of Saddam's sneaky mobile weapons labs. Rabid Baathist fascist bastards (say that 10x fast) were probably trying to blow up the Red Iguana in SLC, thus starving the Mormon population of delicious mole enchiladas!

 

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! Quickly! Under your desk!

[Thinker]

F'inA DFA, htf did you know about the Red Iguana's mole?

[Cobra_Commander]

 

The driver, Travis Stewart, 30, was flown to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, where he was in fair condition

 

WTF

[Cobra_Commander]

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

F'inA DFA, htf did you know about the Red Iguana's mole?

 

Best to assume that Dr. Flash Amazing knows most everything, thus saving yourself a lot of unnecessary surprise, and the resultant wear and tear on your heart and nervous system.

[Thinker]

I like this quote from the other story I linked:

 

"The explosion blew the truck 100 feet up the rock cliff and it slid back down onto the road. All that was identifiable hours later were the engine and the frame."

 

[TeleRoss]

I had an explosion like that once after eating the red mole at the Red Iguana...