Practice News Story – Accident

What started out as an annual field trip ended abruptly in tragedy yesterday. Ten students and their instructor were on their way to Greenline Implements for a class outing when the rear tire to the van they were traveling in exploded, which caused the van to roll. The accident claimed seven lives immediately and one in transport to the hospital. Those who survived the accident were Jared Nelson, Robert Petersen, and Justin Higgins.

Lieutenant Ed Michaud was the first Highway Patrolman on the scene. “In 15 years of service [this accident] is the worst I’ve seen”. When asked to describe what he found, he described what sounded like a scene of chaos.

EMT Robert Child, who arrived on the scene approximately ten minutes after the accident, also noted that this accident was “one of the worst I’ve seen in my career”. He stated that seven were dead at the scene, and three victims were life-flighted to Ogden while one other was taken in an ambulance to Tremonton.

Kyle Holden, a witness to the accident, said that he was traveling along side the van when he looked back and saw the rear tire blow out. His first instinct was that he would just have to help change a tire, but then he watched in horror as the van spun out of control and rolled off of the highway. He stated that the van was on its way to Greenline Implements, where Holden works as the manager. He said that this was a field trip that the Agricultural Department at Utah State University took every year to look at the facility.