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Injured woman found in truck at bottom of southern Utah ravine hours after crash

Posted at 3:05 PM, Aug 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-06 17:08:04-04
A truck that crashed in southern Utah August 5, 2016. Image courtesy Utah Highway Patrol.

A truck that crashed in southern Utah August 5, 2016. Image courtesy Utah Highway Patrol.

KANE COUNTY, Utah — A woman seriously injured after her vehicle plummeted to the bottom of a ravine was in the hard to see spot for several hours before someone happened to glance that way, setting up her rescue.

St. George News reportsthe crash occurred Friday near the Mount Carmel Junction of State Route 9 and Highway 89, and the Ford Ranger had crashed and came to rest about 20 to 30 below in the bottom of a ravine.

A dump truck driver passing by thought he saw something in the ditch, so he pulled over to take a look. That’s when he spotted the damaged vehicle, with the injured woman still inside.

The man called 911 around 9 a.m., and emergency crews extracted the driver and transported her via helicopter to a St. George hospital. She was listed in serious condition at the time she was transported.

Police believe the crash occurred several hours before the scene was discovered, and they said the truck came to rest in a spot that made it unlikely someone would see it from the road.

“It looked like the truck had been there at the bottom of the ditch for a few hours,” Sgt. Lamar Heaton of the Utah Highway Patrol told St. George News. “And who knows how much longer it could have been before the wreck was discovered had it not been for the dump truck driver’s call for help.”

Click here for more on this story from St. George News.