This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper escaped injury Sunday morning after a semi side-swiped his vehicle while he was on a traffic stop.
Lt. Rich Christianson said the trooper was finishing a traffic stop about 6:15 a.m. in the emergency lane of southbound Interstate 15 near the 2100 North exit area in Lehi when he looked up to see a semi inches away from his face.
Christianson said the trooper later recalled watching the semi "slide right past his face" as it sideswiped his cruiser.
The semi continued down the road before pulling over.
The trooper, whose vehicle was not disabled in the incident, pursued the semi and spoke to the driver, who wasn't sure if he had hit him, Christianson said.
The trooper was checked out at the scene, but declined further medical attention, Christianson said.
Officials weren't sure what caused the semi to swerve into the parked UHP vehicle.
The incident was under investigation by Lehi police.
The crash marked the second time in less than four months that the same trooper's vehicle has been struck, Christianson said.
Late last year, the trooper's vehicle nearly got totaled while he was working an accident during a snowstorm and was struck by a passing vehicle, Christianson said.
The trooper, who was outside his vehicle at the time of that crash, escaped injury in that incident, as well.
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