KANARAVILLE, Utah - A miraculous story of survival unfolded in the early morning hours Monday on I-15 near Kannaraville. A semi tractor-trailer carrying about 30 cattle flipped onto its side, landing on top of a Hyundai Sonata with three men inside.
"I got up beside him and the truck just started coming over we ended here together and the car was underneath the trailer. Either the cattle shifted or the wind picked my trailer up and slammed it into the rail here,” said Dan Beneda, the driver of the semi.
The truck had been heading from the Cedar Livestock Auction in Cedar City to a slaughterhouse in California. Heading south on I-15 at freeway speeds around 3:30 in the morning, the truck rolled, smashing the car. Crews began frantically trying to free the three men who were trapped inside. Some volunteer firefighters told the St. George News they offered prayers, fearing the worst.
“They were pinned inside, we had to get the trailer stabilized before they could extricate the guys from the vehicle,” said Sgt. Larry Mower, Utah Highway Patrol.
Meanwhile, inside the small space left of the car, the men managed to call 9-1-1. They stayed on the line with dispatchers for over an hour until they were freed.
"There were three male passengers in the Hyundai and fortunately they were relatively uninjured, one guy had a cut hand and the others didn't seem like they were hurt,” said Sgt. Mower.
All three were taken to Dixie Regional Medical center but are expected to be ok.
Ten cattle were either killed in the accident, or suffered fatal injuries and had to be put down.
