Tanker-SUV crash spills fuel into a Magna field
MAGNA -- A tanker truck carrying 10,400 gallons of diesel fuel flipped upside down and spilled fuel into a Magna field after it was hit by car at the intersection of U-201 and 7200 West late Tuesday night.Witnesses said a sport-utility vehicle, which was northbound on 7200 West, collided head-on with the tanker, which was westbound on U-201, Utah Highway Patrol spokesman Chris Kramer said.
Both vehicles flipped, and the tanker spilled some 7,500 gallons of fuel into a field adjacent to the state highway, Kramer said. In some cases, the pools of fuel were 2 feet deep. Salt Lake County Fire Department hazardous materials teams were called to the scene for cleanup. An environmental impact evaluation was still on going Wednesday morning. Officials from Payson Wester, the company that owns the tanker, were also on scene completing damage assessments.
The accident closed the westbound lanes of the highway overnight, Kramer said.
The driver of the sport utility vehicle, Tammy Francis Behunin, 40, Magna, was partially ejected from her vehicle. She was airlifted to University Hospital, where she was listed in serious but stable condition Wednesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The driver of the tanker, Chad Roth, 26, North Salt Lake, suffered no serious injuries but was transported to Pioneer Valley Hospital as a precautionary measure, Salt Lake County Fire Capt. Bill Brass said. He was treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.
W.V. woman may be charged after false carjacking report
MIDVALE -- A West Valley woman faces charges of filing a false police report and hit and run, after confessing to police that she crashed her car into a utility pole and was not carjacked as she originally reported.
Midvale Police say Mercedes Archibald, 26, called 911 at about 4:30 a.m. on April 2, reporting that a man with a gun had approached her car at the intersection of 7200 South and 200 West, threw the door open, pulled her out and then drove off in the vehicle. The man allegedly fled westbound toward West Jordan, she said.
But hours later, a Midvale business owner found a car with a heavily dented passenger-side fender behind his building and called police. Archibald's car was just a few blocks from the pay phone she had used to call police, Midvale Police Chief Gerald Maughan said.
"That was when we first thought something didn't add up," Maughan said.
Several police interviews later, Archibald confessed that she had been driving home from a party when she hit a telephone pole and then panicked, Maughan said. Abrasions on her face, which police initially thought might have been caused by the alleged carjack, were actually sustained during the accident.
Midvale prosecutors are charging Archibald with two crimes: fling a false police report and hit and run accident. Both charges are class B misdemeanors, which carry a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 in fines.
Bandit makes off with cash in robbery of S.L. pizza outlet
A bandit made off with some cash from a pizza parlor Tuesday morning after he told the employee he had a weapon.
The man entered Little Caesars, 805 S. 900 West, at 11:30 a.m. and confronted the employee behind the counter.
A Salt Lake police report said the bandit indicated he had a weapon and demanded money from the register and the safe.
He then ran south through a nearby grocery store parking lot.
Police say the robber is described as Caucasian, in his 40s, 6 feet tall, slender with shoulder-length brown hair and a mustache. He was wearing a green jacket, blue jeans and sunglasses.
Woman meets armed burglar while trying to enter home
A woman trying to get into her own home was confronted by an armed burglar on his way out.
The 2 p.m. Tuesday incident happened at 950 S. Washington (240 West), where the woman attempted to get in the front door and realized the chain was on.
Salt Lake police said she went around to the back of the the home and was confronted by a masked man who was leaving. He pushed her out of the way and pointed a gun at her. He then jumped the fence and ran off.
Police say a number of items were missing from her home.
Man charged with perjury after search turns up meth
A 37-year-old man has been charged with perjury, a second-degree felony, in connection with a search at his South Salt Lake home.
Court documents state the man told officers who arrived at his residence on April 2 they had permission to search his home for stolen property. Officers report that while searching in the home's basement they found a methamphetamine lab in plain view.
Charges filed Monday in 3rd District Court state that at a March 27 hearing the defendant denied giving officers permission to search his home and argued the search was unlawful.
Officers present during the incident say the man gave them permission to search both the upstairs and downstairs of the residence, court documents state.
If convicted of perjury, the 37-year-old man could face one to 15 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.