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Driver killed after semi strikes mountainside at high speeds in Moab Canyon

Posted at 3:44 PM, Jan 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-19 17:44:20-05

MOAB, Utah — A man was killed in a crash on SR-191 in Moab Canyon Wednesday after a semi-trailer struck a a rock wall mountainside at high speeds.

According to the Utah Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at mile post 132 as the tuck traveled southbound near Moab Canyon, just north of Arches National Park.

Authorities say the driver of the semi was unable to negotiate a curve and drifted off the road to the right, striking the rock wall of the mountainside.

The 27-year-old man driving the semi was ejected through the front windshield, and he was pronounced dead when a trooper arrived on scene.

According to a witness, the semi appeared to be traveling at a “high rate of speed” down the canyon. There are no indications that impairment was a factor in the crash.

The deceased has not yet been identified.

The semi was hauling onions and was bound for New Mexico.