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Two people injured after UTA bus slides out of its lane

Posted at 8:55 AM, Dec 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-09 22:21:16-05

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — Two people received minor injuries Saturday after a UTA bus slid out of its lane in the Tanner Flats area of Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Police said the roads weren’t icy at the time, but that the bus driver was going too fast for the conditions.

“Buses aren’t meant to go around corners that fast,” said Det. Ken Hansen with Unified Police.

Hansen said the UTA driver lost traction on the wet ground, crossing over into Eastbound traffic, colliding into a brand new Land Rover and a BMW.

The Land Rover was totaled, and the family inside — who were on their way up the canyon for ski lessons — walked away with headaches and a few bruises.

Hansen said an ambulance took the driver of the BMW to the hospital with minor injuries and a concussion.

A 45-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy received light injuries in the crash.

“Lucky that no one was hurt more than that when you take into consideration the weight and speed of a bus,” said Hansen.

Hansen said the UTA bus was on a regular schedule taking skiers from the bottom of Little Cottonwood Canyon to the resorts at the top.

The incident occurred as the bus driver was heading back to the beginning, with no passengers on board.

Carl Arky with UTA said he still needs to talk with the bus driver to find out exactly what happened but said he believes the driver just lost control.

Arky said UTA will investigate the incident before having two company committees evaluate and review what happened and how UTA can prevent incidents like this from happening again.

“Glad everybody is going to be all right,” said Arky. “I hope everyone recovers quickly.”