WEST JORDAN -- A man was seriously injured Friday morning when the backhoe he was driving slid off the side of a road and down an embankment, temporarily trapping him in the cab.
Vince Devers, 31, was northbound on U-111 near 7800 South about 7 a.m. Friday when the accident occurred, West Jordan Police Lt. Gary Cox said.Police are unsure if Devers was pulling the backhoe to the side of the road to let traffic pass or if he simply lost control of the vehicle and slid onto the soft shoulder of the road, Cox said.
Devers apparently tried to get the machine back onto the roadway -- or at least prevent it from sliding into the ditch, as he swung his chair around and extended the arm of the backhoe out.
"It looks like he was trying to shift the weight of the backhoe and then use the arm of it to pull it back onto the road," Cox said. "But he didn't make it. The shoulder was wet, slippery and soft, and he rolled down a 25- to 30-foot embankment."
Devers suffered severe injuries to his legs and was taken by medical helicopter to LDS Hospital, Cox said.