TOOELE, Utah (KUTV) — According to Cpl. Colbey Bentley with Tooele Police, a 26-year-old is the truck driver responsible for the three crashes that damaged 33 cars, injured 11, and set a Tooele car dealership up in flames.
The driver’s identity has not been released, but Cpl. Bentley said he was driving for a company CL Ranch Transport, a Utah Transport Company based out of Grantsville, Utah.
“I think as soon as this call came out everyone expected there would be not just one or two fatalities, but this is a situation where we are expecting 10 or 15 fatalities,” Cpl. Bentley told 2News.
Dozens of agencies responded to the chaotic scene on Friday, Tooele Police Department, Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, Grantsville City Police Department, Utah Highway Patrol, Tooele Fire Department, North Tooele Fire Department and Unified Fire.
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“We have a situation where a semi went through the front of this building where not just one desk, but multiple desks are at, you have patrons, you have other employees here, you have everyone on the road. It’s expected that you are going to have a mass casualty event and for us not to have any fatalities right now is nothing short of a miracle,” he said.
Tooele police said a 67-year-old woman was critically injured in the accident, and ten others were left with significant but non-life-threatening injuries.
The truck driver was not injured.
“It was pretty hectic to see some people were knocked out of their vehicles some people were getting their windshields smashed in,” a witness said.
Dealership employees and bystanders sprang into action, helping victims and pulling people out of their cars.
“We have an amazing guy his name is Drayke that works here he is an absolutely hero he basically went from you know trying to get cars sold to being on the frontlines,” a dealership employee said.
Cpl. Bentley said it gives him goosebumps thinking about how the community came together on Friday.
“Law enforcement and medical and firefighters often get, you know, held as heroes about different things but in a situation like this we are not immediately on scene, it’s the bystanders, it’s the employees here, those are the heroes today,” Cpl. Bentley said.
Tooele police said they believe the truck driver’s brakes failed, but they hope to know for sure on Monday. That is when they plan to release the driver’s identity.
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