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Mud saves dump truck driver’s life in US Highway 40 accident

Lance Maggart
lmaggart@skyhidailynews.com
The driver of an ATH Specialties dump truck was airlifted from the scene by a Flight For Life helicopter after his vehicle ran off of US Highway 40 at the west end of Red Dirt Hill on Tuesday afternoon, August 2.
Art Ferrari / Special to the Sky-Hi News |

Mud may have saved a dump truck driver’s life on August 2.

The driver was heading west on U.S. Highway 40 on Tuesday when he neared the bottom of Red Dirt Hill outside of Granby. Immediately after spotting a car stopped in the middle of the road, the driver diverted his rig onto the right shoulder of the highway.

The driver managed to avoid the vehicle, but crashed into the ditch. The dump truck, carrying a full load of dirt, rolled and ejected the driver. The truck rolled onto the driver, pinning him between the truck and the ground. Instead of crushing him, the weight of the truck pressed the man into the soft mud.



What normally would have resulted in death ended in relatively minor injuries for the truck driver, who was transported by Flight for Life to a nearby hospital.


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