10-year-old unresponsive after father crashes into slow-moving dump truck

November 26, 2017 Utah Channel 3

GRAND COUNTY — A boy was flown to the hospital after being critically injured in a crash on Interstate 70 Sunday morning.

Emergency personnel responded to a crash involving a Nissan Altima and a dump truck at approximately 6:05 a.m. at the I-70/Crescent Junction interchange north of Moab. Several people were reported as injured, including an initial report of 10-year-old boy who was not breathing and who had no pulse when responders arrived.

A father with his two children passengers was eastbound on I-70 in the Nissan when he came up behind a dump truck that was traveling at a slow pace, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Lawrence Hopper said.

“The driver of the Nissan didn’t realize how slow the dump truck was going,” Hopper said, “and ran into the back of the dump truck.”

Medical personnel from Grand County EMS arrived at about 6:35 a.m., and a medical helicopter was also dispatched to the scene.

“The 10-year-old boy didn’t have a pulse,” Hopper said.

EMTs performed CPR on the boy, and he regained his pulse. He was then flown to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction in critical condition.

The driver of the Altima was transported to Moab Regional Hospital with his other son in stable condition.

The driver and passenger of the dump truck had bumps and bruises, Hopper said, but they were not sent to the hospital.

Everyone involved in the crash was wearing seat belts, Hopper said, and impairment is not suspected as a contributor to the crash.

No citation had been issued at the time this report was taken.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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