In a scary dashcam video released by the Utah Department of Transportation, a tractor-trailer clipped a state snowplow on a road Thursday, sending the plow plummeting down a 300-foot embankment into the Spanish Fork Canyon.
The driver of the snowplow, identified by UDOT as 59-year-old Terry Jacobson, survived the crash but suffered serious injuries, CNN reported. He was hospitalized with serious injuries in Provo's Utah Valley Hospital; Jacobson has worked for the department for more than 23 years, KUTV reported.
Photos show the front of the plow and passenger side of the cab smashed. UDOT spokesman John Gleason told CNN that Jacobson was wearing his seat belt, "which saved his life."
"He says he doesn't remember very much other than going through the rail and rolling down the hill," Neil Lundell, a UDOT supervisor, said in a video uploaded to the department's YouTube account.
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jeff Toney told KUTV that the truck driver that caused the accident is William Owens of Owens Brothers trucking, a company from Monroe, Utah.
Toney said Owens confirmed he tried to pass the snowplow but couldn't offer a reason why.
Owens was cited for improper passing and failure to maintain a single lane of travel.
UDOT confirmed to CNN the authenticity of the video, despite the incorrect date-stamp on it. The department said the owner of the dashcam incorrectly set the date and time.
In the video, the tractor-trailer appears to pass Jacobson's plow as it cleared slush on a snowy U.S. 6 near Spanish Fork, Utah. Gleason said the truck driver "was temporarily blinded by the wash of the plow and couldn't see where he was going."
The tractor-trailer struck the wing of the plow, causing the vehicle to cross the highway, crash through the guardrail and continue more than 300 feet down to the canyon.
The truck driver stopped after the collision and called authorities.
"After seeing the video, it’s a miracle he is here," Shane Jacobson told KUTV. He said his father was alert but in a lot of pain.
"This was by far and away the most serious crash we've had with one of our snowplows," UDOT executive director Carlos Braceras said in the video uploaded to YouTube. "This is the fourth one that we've had so far this year."
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