Utah County teen seriously hurt after falling from moving Jeep

UTAH COUNTY, Utah (KUTV) — A Utah County teenager was seriously injured Friday morning when she fell from a moving Jeep, Utah Highway Patrol said.

According to Sgt. Colton Freckleton, the incident happened around 9 a.m. on S.R. 144 up Tibble Fork. He said five teens were on board, some of whom were standing on the Jeep's side deck holding onto the roof rack while the vehicle was traveling about 45 miles per hour.

At some point, the roof rack broke off, causing a girl to fall and hit her head on the side of the road, Freckleton said. She suffered “serious injuries” but is expected to recover, according to UHP.

The 16-year-old driver was cited for driving too fast for conditions and for unlawfully having friends in the vehicle.

“It is a law that you cannot drive with friends in the vehicle until after six months of having your driver’s license,” said Freckleton.

No one else was cited. Freckleton said all the teens involved were from Eagle Mountain, and they were shaken up by what happened.

“A lot of them were crying and having a hard time getting past it, you know, that there was a lot of injuries,” he said.

UHP said the incident serves as an important safety reminder as school is out and summer begins.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION (

0

)

“We see it all the time where kids will hang onto the side of a vehicle or be in the bed of a truck, and it’s very dangerous because you never know how you’re going to react to other vehicles on the road or the speed or bumps and your grip on the vehicle or equipment on the vehicle,” said Freckleton. “It’s just very unsafe.”