This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
By now you probably know about Sen. Curt Bramble's cross-country dash from National Conference of State Legislatures meetings in Boston to very, very nearly cast the decisive vote in the Senate's override of Gov. Gary Herbert's veto of the bill directing state offices to be open on Friday.
There are, however a couple loose ends to tie up.
First, Bramble said Saturday night that his plane was struck by lightning as it took off from Boston and one of the engines was knocked out. He said he could clearly see that the turbines weren't turning, although the flight attendant assured them they would be OK and, lo, they were.
The story is so incredible that, not surprisingly, it's only partly true.
A Delta spokesman told me that the plane was, indeed, struck by lightning on "climb-out" from Boston. It was hit on the landing gear door, but the engines were both working fine for the entire flight.
Which really makes a lot of sense, when you consider Flight 1215 out of Boston was a twin-engine Boeing 757-200. If lightning had knocked out an engine, they probably would've had a rough landing in the Back Bay.
Instead, the plane touched down in SLC at 7:26 p.m. Which brings us to point No. 2.
Bramble was whisked by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper to the override session, which was scheduled to start at 7:30 but ended up starting about 7:45, or 20 minutes early by legislative time.
So what's up with that UHP escort?
Senate President Michael Waddoups said he asked the trooper to pick Bramble up at the airport to make sure they could get him to the Capitol on time. Waddoups said there were three troopers on duty at the Capitol that night, so people weren't pulled off the road.
"They were waiting for him at the curb they picked him up and zipped him to the session," said Waddoups, who said he doesn't see any problem with the curbside pickup.
He said the troopers are always with the governor and frequently escort and do security for other officials.
No word on what the trooper's boss – Gov. Herbert – thinks of the special treatment.
The ironic capper of the night was that there were 21 votes for the override – Democratic Sen. Karen Morgan voted for the override – and Bramble's vote didn't really matter.
— Robert Gehrke Twitter: @RobertGehrke