Authorities investigating a freeway accident that killed a Colorado man foundwhat initially appeared to be a homemade bomb inside his pickup truck. But the device proved to be harmless.
Scott Paul Jansen, 33, of Englewood, Colo., was killed at about 8:35 a.m. Saturday when his southbound truck drifted into the northbound lanes of I-15 just north of here, hit the guardrail and rolled on its right side, said Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Davis.Davis described the device as an Igloo six-pack carrier with three switches on top and wires leading inside. It was found in a camper shell along with three semiautomatic rifles, one a .223-caliber and two of .44-caliber, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .44-caliber handgun.
Davis said an X-ray of the carrier revealed what appeared to be a battery inside. He said a St. George Police officer with explosives training took the carrier to an isolated area and detonated it with a chemical mixture.
"It turned out it probably wasn't," he said. "It had everything in there that looked like a bomb, but it was not."
The purpose of the wiring was unknown, Davis said.
He said the truck, which was hauling a trailer equipped with a camper, also contained knives, camping and backpacking gear, several books on survival and tools and electrical equipment.
Davis said Jansen, who was alone in the truck, apparently had left Colorado to live with relatives in St. George, about 40 miles south of Washington.