Heavy rain had already complicated a drive on Interstate 15 in Utah when a Utah Highway Patrol trooper and a Beaver County Sheriff’s deputy stopped to investigate a crash.
Then another vehicle left the roadway and hit both of their patrol vehicles.
The deputy suffered minor injuries. The trooper was not injured.
And within moments, there was another rollover.
On The Shoulder
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The crashes happened Aug. 11 in Beaver County, where footage released by Utah Highway Patrol shows rain falling on I-15 as emergency personnel deal with the first wreck.
According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, the trooper and deputy were investigating a crash on northbound I-15 near milepost 126 at about 3:15 p.m.
Both were on the left shoulder with their emergency lights activated.
A vehicle then ran off the roadway and struck both law enforcement vehicles.
Footage of the collision shows the approaching vehicle sliding toward the shoulder before hitting the patrol vehicles at the crash scene.
The Beaver County deputy suffered minor injuries. Utah Highway Patrol later said the trooper was uninjured.
Several other people involved in the crashes were taken to a nearby hospital, ABC4 reported.
Another One
The roadway was not finished.
Moments after the patrol vehicles were hit, Utah Highway Patrol said another vehicle lost control and rolled into the southbound lanes.
The sequence left emergency personnel dealing with multiple crashes in a short stretch of rain-soaked interstate.
Utah Highway Patrol used the footage to remind drivers that posted speed limits are set for ideal conditions and that motorists should slow down when it rains.
The agency had another instruction for drivers approaching an emergency scene: “When you see flashing lights, SLOW DOWN & MOVE OVER.”