This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 6-foot R&R Co. trailer truck hauling 35,000 pounds of caste booster
explosives rolled and exploded between the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon and
the intersection of Highway 89, pealing off railroad tracks, triggering a
massive dirt slide and creating a large crater in the ground.
Six people were injured in the accident, one critically, said Utah Highway
Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce. The driver of the truck and the passenger were flown
to an area hospital.
Janet Frank, spokeswoman for Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, told
Channel 2 news three people had been admitted. Two suffered critical
injuries and a third person was in satisfactory condition.
LDS Hospital spokesman Jess Gomez said three Life Flight helicopters were
dispatched to Spanish Fork Canyon and a fourth remained on standby.
The R&R Co. truck left the Ensign-Bickford Company chemical plant at 1:10
p.m. and was headed to Oklahoma. The explosion occurred about 45 minutes
later.
The crater left by the explosion is 70 feet wide and 30 feet deep.