2 folks keep away from critical harm after their car goes off the freeway in Little Cottonwood Canyon

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SALT LAKE CITY — Unified police say two adults averted critical harm Sunday night time after the car they had been driving in slid off the freeway in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Police say the incident occurred at roughly 5 p.m. when the pair had been touring down the canyon, on the high of Seven Turns.

“Apparently, the automobile in entrance of them was going somewhat slower than they favored and utilizing their brakes an excessive amount of, and so they determined to go forward and go on a double yellow on an icy street,” stated Unified Police Sgt. Ed Twohill.

Chopper 5 bought unique video footage of the scene.

The jeep then slipped on ice and traveled roughly 100 toes down a “steep cliff,” police instructed KSL. The folks inside each survived.

“Bumps, bruises, a number of scrapes,” Twohill stated. “That is one thing that might have very simply changed into a fatality.”

Twohill stated they see a variety of crashes and roll offs on this location, however stated officers had been stunned to see the motive force and passenger stroll themselves again as much as the street. They stated they did not go to the hospital and left the scene in one other automobile.

“We have had close to fatalities right here and really critical accidents right here all through the years. They’re extraordinarily fortunate,” he stated.

Recovering the automobile is a unique story. Police needed to shut the canyon for a part of Sunday night time to hoist out the jeep.

“Due to the placement, we’ll must get a specialised heavy wrecker to drag it out,” Twohill stated.

Police coordinated with the Utah Division of Transportation and the resorts to shut the canyon.

“The roads had been fairly icy earlier at the moment, so we made the choice to delay the restoration of the car as a result of it was taking a extremely, actually very long time at the moment to get out of the canyon, and we had a bunch of different slide-offs as nicely,” Twohill stated.

They stated drivers appear to be in additional of a rush on dangerous climate days.

“Endurance. It will be troublesome, and understanding that everyone’s not going to have the identical driving abilities maybe as you’ve,” he stated.

They stated it is outstanding these two made it out of the jeep alive, with out main accidents.

“One of many greatest issues why I believe they had been in a position to survive is the truth that it was snow and it was in a position to sluggish their automobile down and cushion the touchdown as a result of there’s only a bunch of rocks and boulders and timber,” Twohill stated. “Had this been in the summertime, the probability of them rolling on down the hill could be actually, actually vital.”

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