West Jordan woman killed in crash with truck in Big Cottonwood Canyon

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — One person was killed and others injured in a crash with a runaway dump truck in Big Cottonwood Canyon Monday morning.

Unified Police Department Sgt. Melody Cutler said the crash happened near Storm Mountain, where the dump truck hit a passenger car and killed 36-year-old Jessica Keetch Minnesota, of West Jordan.

The dump truck driver told police that he lost control of his brakes and attempted to enter the runaway truck lane when he collided with the car.

The passenger car had four people inside; a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old, a woman in her 50s or 60s, and the deceased Minnesota, according to Cutler. The dump truck only contained the driver, identified only as a man.

The 4-year-old was transported by air ambulance in extremely critical condition, the others were transported by ambulance in serious and critical condition. Minnesota died on the scene, Cutler said.

The dump truck was not carrying anything when it crashed.

UDOT shut down traffic on state Route 190 and said at first it was turning cars around in both directions on the only road heading up and down the canyon until around 3 p.m.

No estimated time of opening. Stay tuned for updates. (2/2)@UDOTRegionTwo@SolitudeMTN @BrightonResort @BrightonUT

— UDOT Cottonwood Canyons (@UDOTcottonwoods) August 15, 2022

SR 190 has a single lane heading up and another heading down the canyon and services ski resort areas that are used year-round, picnic areas, and is popular for hikers, bikers and for other recreational uses. A number of homes and cabins are also in the canyon.

Photos from a KSL TV news crew show an industrial truck tipped on its side against a rocky feature of the canyon. The cab of the truck appeared to be smashed against the rock near a traffic pull-out area along the narrow, winding road.

A GoFundMe for the family members of Minnesota can be found here.

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