THISTLE, Utah County — One person was killed and three others were injured in an accident involving four vehicles on state Route 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon Tuesday afternoon.
The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m. two miles west of Sheep Creek Road when a double semitractor-trailer driving west either slowed or stopped and was rear-ended by a Dodge pickup, according to a news release from Utah Highway Patrol.
The impact sent the Dodge into one of the two eastbound lanes, where it collided with an eastbound GMC Yukon. UHP said the Dodge was hit “almost directly on the driver door,” killing the driver, Aaron C. Parry of West Jordan, on impact. The back end of the GMC then swung into the second eastbound lane, where it hit a Ford Fusion.
Both the drivers of the GMC and semitrailer were transported to a hospital by helicopter in critical condition, police said. The driver of the Ford was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
The crash prompted police to close both directions of state Route 6. Eastbound traffic was diverted to state Route 89.
The names of the victims and additional details about the crash were not immediately released Tuesday.
Initial information released by UHP indicated there were five vehicles involved in the crash and six people injured, but a later press release said four vehicles were involved and three people hospitalized.