Woman Hit By Car While Trying To Help Husband Back Up Tractor Trailer

WEST JORDAN, Utah – A pickup truck hit and critically injured a woman Thursday morning in West Jordan, marking the fourth consecutive day that a pedestrian has been hit in Utah—resulting in three deaths.

The 42-year-old woman from Idaho Falls was struck just before 6:30 a.m. when she stepped into the lanes of travel on 7800 South near 3000 West to clear the way for her husband to back up a tractor trailer loaded with sod.

“It was pitch black,” said Officer Scott List with the West Jordan Police Department. “It’s not a crosswalk. It’s not a place where somebody would expect a pedestrian to be.”

The woman was accompanying her husband on the delivery run, List said. The couple had pulled into a strip mall parking lot and couldn’t navigate the tight turns.

That’s when she went into the road to stop traffic and was hit by an oncoming pickup truck traveling near the speed limit of 40 miles per hour, according to List.

“He just said over and over again that he didn’t see her, that he had no idea she was there,” List said about the driver.

First responders rushed the woman to the hospital in critical condition. As of Thursday afternoon, the woman’s condition had not improved, officials said.

When the woman’s husband rushed to help his wife, he forgot to put the semi-truck in park, allowing it to roll forward and hit one of the strip mall’s steel support pillars. The building’s structural integrity was not compromised, List said, but the impact caused cinder blocks surrounding the beam to fall to the ground.

The incident made it four days in a row that a person has been hit on Utah roadways.

An 82-year-old man was struck while walking in a crosswalk in Provo on Wednesday. In South Salt Lake on Tuesday, a car hit a 66-year-old woman—also while in a cross walk. On Monday in Taylorsville, two cars hit a 47-year-old woman trying to catch bus. All three people died from their injuries.

A 15-year-old boy was also struck by a police squad car in Provo Thursday around 6:15 p.m. In a social media post, officials from the Provo Police Department said the boy sustained a leg injury and had to be rushed to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

“This can happen to you and me just like anybody else,” Officer List said. “Especially this time of year where it’s darker more. We really need to be vigilant about paying attention.”

As the weather changes and the days get shorter, List said drivers need to watch for children and other pedestrians.

“Stop whatever you’re doing and look around,” he said. “Look both ways. Really pay attention to what’s out there and think to yourself, ‘What if someone’s in dark clothing?’”

Pedestrians need to do their part, too, List said.

“Make sure you’re watching those cars before you step out in the road,” he cautioned. “Make sure you’re watching their speed—if they’re going too fast to slow down then don’t step in front of them. Be very cautious, even if you’re in a crosswalk.”