Driver escapes injury after dump truck rolls on North Ogden Divide

LIBERTY -- The driver of a gravel truck made it almost all the way down the east side of the North Ogden Divide, but the last turn was too much and he lost his load of gravel all over Helen Rich's driveway before losing the truck itself in a ditch.

The accident closed the divide road for about two hours Wednesday morning while crews cleaned up the gravel and removed the 1987 Ford dump truck.

Rich, 2726 E. North Ogden Canyon Road, didn't appreciate the free gravel, even though it was very neatly spread all over the entrance to her driveway.

"I hope someone's going to clean it up," she said shortly before Weber County workers started doing just that.

Weber Sheriff's Lt. Phil Howell said the 33,000-pound truck was going east at 10:55 a.m. down the steep road from the top of North Ogden Divide.

The driver, George Dickens, an employee of Strong Rock, of Lehi, "said he lost his brakes and did what he could to control it, but finally lost it," Howell said. Deputies were still investigating Wednesday afternoon to see if the brakes failed or some other mechanical failure was at fault.

The truck's left front wheel went off the road after the final turn. The truck traveled 180 feet as it veered back onto the road and then tipped onto its left side. It then skidded 170 feet into a ditch. The front wheels and axle were ripped off the front springs by the impact, ending up under the body of the truck.

Howell said Dickens got out of the truck on his own and didn't seem seriously injured.

He was transported to a hospital to be checked.

Rich said the section of road where the accident occurred looks straight and relatively level, but it is the scene of numerous accidents in which vehicles going up or down the road go too fast.

"People take this S-curve at 50-60 miles an hour and it's not unusual to have several accidents a year going up or down," she said.

"Mainly they're coming down. They just try to make this corner here at more than 20 miles per hour. The sign (20 mph) is there, but they don't pay attention. We've pulled cars out with our tractor."