HEBER CITY — A Salt Lake firefighter died Sunday in a collision involving three vehicles near Strawberry Reservoir.
The head-on collision happened about 9:45 a.m. on U.S. 40, according to Utah Highway Patrol trooper Cameron Roden. Tyson L. Mason, 29, of Plain City, Weber County, died in the crash. A Life Flight nurse was also injured.
Mason was a firefighter and paramedic with the Salt Lake City Fire Department. He also worked part-time as a flight paramedic for Life Flight.
"This is a tragedy to lose a member of the Intermountain Health Care and Life Flight family," Intermountain spokesman Jess Gomez said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and colleagues for this devastating loss."
An eastbound pickup truck was passing an Impala in the passing lane when the Impala veered to the left, side-swiping the truck, the UHP reported. The impact forced the pickup truck into oncoming westbound traffic and it hit a Subaru passenger car driven by Mason head-on.
The nurse, whose name and age have not been released, was a passenger in the vehicle and was taken by helicopter to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in serious condition.
The driver of the truck was also hospitalized, but the driver's condition was unknown.
Gomez said Mason and the nurse were returning to Salt Lake City from Uintah Basin Medical Center in Roosevelt after completing a shift at the Life Flight base there. Both had been working in Roosevelt for several days.
Life Flight medics from Intermountain Healthcare were dispatched to the scene of the crash and realized the patients were two of their co-workers.
"As you can imagine, it was a shock to know that two members of the team — their colleagues, their family members so to speak — were involved in this serious car accident. However, being the professionals that they are, they did everything they needed to do," Gomez said.
“Tyson was a young, professional firefighter and a talented paramedic. He was a devoted husband, who just became a father for the first time, only one week ago. He was respected by his brothers and sisters in the fire service and will be sorely missed,” said Salt Lake Fire Chief Karl Lieb on the department's website.
Mason began his career with the Ogden Fire Department in 2009 before joining the Salt Lake department two years ago, Lieb said.