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TOOELE — The Tooele Motor Company caught fire and 11 people were injured after a semitruck crashed into dozens of vehicles and the car dealership on Friday.
The crash happened in the area of 1000 North and Main Street in Tooele after the semitruck, which was carrying two trailers full of gravel, apparently lost its brakes. The truck's brakes went out on Vine Street, and it ended up in oncoming northbound traffic, police said.
The semitruck then crashed into the Tooele Motor Company building, 1141 N. Main Street, exploding and causing a fire.
Eleven people total were injured — at least one critically, who was flown to a hospital in Salt Lake City where he or she remained in critical condition late Friday. Gold Cross ambulances were standing by at local hospitals to transport other patients to Salt Lake City.
Police initially said 27 vehicles were involved in the crash, but in an update late Friday they said 33 were damaged in the incident including the semitruck — 27 vehicles were hit at 1000 North and Main Street; two were hit at 400 North; and three were hit at Vine Street.
A dash cam video of the semitruck after it had apparently lost control showed a pedestrian running across the road as the truck barreled past stopped cars toward the intersection.
Tony Garner was driving when he saw "a semi coming straight at me, and I was hoping it was going to regain its, whatever, to drive straight. And it didn't, and it hit the car right in front of me, and that's when I just closed my eyes and prayed," he said.
It pushed his vehicle, and when he opened his eyes the semitruck was "flying down the back there" and ran into the car dealership, blowing up.
Janet Robison was a few cars behind Garner.
"It had gone airborne, is what I saw, I just saw this big thing coming," she recalled.
She said the car in front of her began spinning toward hers.
Garner, who was uninjured, began to help others who were trapped in their vehicles.
"There was a police officer there, like an angel appeared, so I'm (thinking) 'thank you, thank God,'" Garner said. "It was just so chaotic and so scary."
The semitruck and the main floor of the Tooele Motor Company caught fire, said Tooele Police Cpl. Colbey Bentley.
Amazingly, the semitruck driver escaped the crash without injuries, and no one in the auto mall was reported injured.
Workers recalled watching the semitruck head toward them and cars begin to explode. Some workers said they began helping victims of the crash as police began to arrive on scene.
Tooele Police Lt. Jeremy Hansen said he's never seen anything like it.
"It's going to be several days before we can get this all sorted out because of the amount of people who were involved, the amount of vehicles that were involved," Hansen said.
Tooele Mayor Debbie Winn in a statement thanked public safety members and first responders for their "dedication and hard work."
"Today's incident was indeed a tragic event, and many in our community have been profoundly affected by it. I want to extend my heartfelt sympathies to the victims and their families who have suffered as a result of this unfortunate incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and I pray for their full recovery," Winn said.
She emphasized that responding to the incident was "not easy as we had many incident scenes and so many individuals involved. We are fortunate to have such professional, dedicated, and capable individuals in our community, and their efforts are deeply appreciated."
Winn also thanked bystanders who "did not hesitate to help those in need" and added they live in a caring community.
"As we move forward, it is imperative that we continue to work together to prevent such accidents and enhance the safety of our community. I am committed to supporting any measures that can help mitigate the risk of such incidents in the future," the mayor said.
In a separate incident that happened around the same time in Tooele, at least one person was injured after a crash that stemmed from a vehicle chase, Bentley said.
Contributing: Brianna Chavez, Andrew Adams
