A Utah Highway Patrol trooper died Wednesday night when his patrol car was struck from behind by a semitrailer truck.
Trooper Randy K. Ingram, 39, was in his car, stopped in the emergency lane, when he was hit, said Public Safety Department spokesman Gary Whitney.The shock of Ingram's death spread quickly in Juab County. Ingram was a Nephi native.
About 9:30 p.m., Ingram stopped a van traveling south on I-15 without taillights. He talked to the driver and had returned to his patrol car to write a citation when the semi apparently drifted into the emergency lane and hit the patrol car.
Ingram was killed instantly when his car was sandwiched between the semi and the van. Occupants in the van said Ingram's emergency lights were flashing at the time.
The van, driven by Richard K. Price, 37, was carrying six Boy Scouts from Clearfield and an 8-year-old boy who were bound for a camping trip in Bryce Canyon. No one in the van was injured. A small fire started at the rear of the van after the impact, but it was quickly extinguished by the van's driver.
The semi is owned by Romney Buick in Ogden and was driven by David R. Buck, 28, Roy. Dazed and shaken, Buck was taken to a local hospital but did not appear injured, Whitney said.
The crash is under investigation by the Juab County Sheriff's Department. Ingram was a 10-year veteran of the UHP and was stationed in Mona, Juab County. He was also a member of the Utah Army National Guard.
He is survived by his wife, Carlene, and two children, ages 2 and 4.
"We are still in shock," said Juab County Sheriff David Carter, who was several years ahead of Ingram at Juab High School and worked with Ingram during all of the trooper's time with the highway patrol.
"He was a good, honest, dependable guy - was always willing to help another officer, city, county or highway patrol, whenever he was called on to help," Carter added.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Paul Mangelson agreed that he and the men he works with still can't believe Ingram is dead. "It'll get worse as time goes on," said Mangelson.
"He's been back in the area about seven years. He had his 10 years total last month," said Mangelson.
Mangelson said he would miss Ingram's professionalism and friendship. "He's a perfectionist. A lot of our reports aren't required to be typewritten, but he typed every report."
Mangelson said Ingram's mother, Phyllis, works at the county jail as the matron/-secretary and was always concerned about her son. "This will be rough on his mother," he said.
Annette Lovell, secretary to the county attorney, said she talked to Ingram Wednesday night. "We were down at the jail, and it was cold and wet. He said he had a couple of accident reports to fill out and he thought he'd stay in awhile and do them. The next thing I heard was this morning about 7 a.m. when I learned he had been in an accident," she said.
Juab County Attorney Don Eyre Jr. said he was shocked when he was called at 1:30 a.m. and informed of Ingram's death and the circumstances. "Every day when these officers go out there they perform a hazardous job. The potential for something like this happening is always there," he said.
The Public Safety Department has established a memorial fund for the Ingram family. Contributions can be sent to the Trooper Randy K. Ingram Memorial Fund, Utah Highway Patrol, 4501 S. 2700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84119-5994.