Blast closes canyon
Truck tips over, explodes; at least 10 people hurt
By Sara Israelsen, Tad Walch and Laura Hancock
Deseret Morning News
SPANISH FORK CANYON — Metal shards, frayed pieces of tire and an engine block were all that was left of a truck carrying 38,000 pounds of explosives after the cargo detonated Wednesday afternoon on U.S. 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon.
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The explosion left a crater 30 feet deep and caused hillside fires.
Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News
The truck's driver was going too fast, officials said, which caused the truck to jack-knife at the Red Narrows, one of the canyon's sharp turns. The truck tipped over, skidded across the pavement and started a fire on the mountainside.
The flames reached the explosives and sparked a massive explosion just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, leaving only the truck's engine block and a mangled axle. The blast carved a hole in the road 30 feet deep and about 70 feet wide and propelled concrete barriers into the Spanish Fork River hundreds of yards away.