WASATCH COUNTY, Utah — Utah authorities have found the body of an 18-wheeler driver after a May 20 accident sent the rig into the Deer Creek Reservoir.
Police searched for the driver for better part of two days. The driver’s name wasn’t released.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP), the truck was traveling south on U.S. 189 when the driver lost control heading into a steep curve. The rig jackknifed, hit a guardrail and plunged into the water.
On the morning of May 21, UHP officials said that recovering the driver is a top priority. Dive teams are working to find them.
Police have not released the driver’s name.
Fire Chief Eric Hales of the Wasatch Fire District said the truck was hauling 12,000 gallons of propane and had 130 gallons of diesel fuel in its tanks when it crashed.
While the diesel fuel leaked into the water, Hales said that most of the propane escaped into the atmosphere.
Absorption booms and curtains have been placed in the water to help mitigate the diesel spill and any propane that may be there.
Deer Creek Reservoir is part of the drinking water system, but officials said they contained the spill and will work more to clean it out once the driver is recovered and the truck is removed from the water.
The crash remains under investigation.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
