A Sheepherder, Good Samaritan, and a Semi.

I handled my share of bad traffic accidents over the years. A lot of those accidents occurred on the interstate meaning many involve high speeds. I learned what a vehicle could handle when hitting another object, what happens when a vehicle rolls on dirt opposed to rolling on asphalt, and what saves people in high speed accidents.  

One of those accidents involved a sheepherder, a good Samaritan, and a semi-truck. I responded to an accident on Scipio Summit on I-15. I found a semi-truck off the side of the road, a truck off the side of the road, a vehicle stopped in the emergency lane with a broken rear window, and sheep running all over the freeway. It was winter and there were several inches of snow on the shoulder of the interstate.

I positioned my vehicle to secure the scene. As I moved towards the vehicle when I heard a gunshot. I turned to see another trooper “putting down” the injured sheep running on the interstate. They herded the uninjured sheep off the interstate.

I continued to the front of the semi-truck. It was off the side of the freeway and the damaged truck was in front. I found a man was under the damaged pickup truck and buried in the snow. It took over an hour to secure the injured person and load him into the ambulance to get him to the hospital.  It took hours to clean up the scene.

The injured man was an older sheepherder from Sevier County. He had his pickup, and a trailer loaded with sheep and was taking them south to sell. He was driving up Scipio Summit, a steep grade, when another driver motioned him to pull over. This “Good Samaritan” noticed the trailer tires were on fire. The sheepherder pulled over and the Good Samaritan stopped in front of him. He exited his vehicle and walked up to the Good Samaritan.  

The sheepherder talked to “Good Samaritan” and started back to his vehicle. As the sheepherder was walking back, he noticed a semi-truck headed towards his vehicle in the emergency lane. He tried to run onto the shoulder away from his vehicle. The semi-truck hit the trailer which pushed the truck forward into the Good Samaritan’s vehicle. The sheepherder’s vehicle struck him and burying him in the snow under the truck. The impact to the Good Samaritan’s vehicle caused the driver’s head to hit the rear window shattering it.

The sheepherder was talking to rescuers and was not complaining of any pain. Because of the impact of the accident, the rescuers treated the injured man for the worst injuries. Upon arriving at the hospital, the injured man’s body temperature was just above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. As he warmed up, the injured man screamed in pain. The man, in his 70’s, had a broken hip. He went through months of rehab following the accident. He was lucky to survive.

The accident assured me good people in the world are willing to help others. From the Good Samaritan, those who stopped to assist, those who rounded up the sheep. Even a moment of distraction can change the life of others and your own. Distraction caused the semi driver to drive into the emergency lane. The truck driver lost his job and faced a civil lawsuit filed following the accident. Every time I drive south passed the location, I think about that accident!!