Driver of rolled-over truck luckily uninjured
Thursday, October 12, 2000
Steamboat Springs — Erik Johnson lost nothing more serious than his lunch Thursday afternoon when the semitrailer he was using to haul 78,000 pounds of logs rolled over as he headed down Elk River Road toward Steamboat Springs.
"I was lucky," Johnson said of the accident that occurred about 3 p.m. on Elk River Road. "Real lucky."
Johnson, 28, of Montrose was driving a 1985 Peterbuilt with a trailer full of logs from the Routt National Forest. His destination was Montrose.
"I was coming around the corner when I felt the truck get a little squirrely," said Johnson, who has a little more than three years of truck-driving experience. "Through my mirror, I could see the tires come off the ground. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't.
"I flipped up the truck's arm rest and jumped between the driver and passenger seat."
Johnson, who works for a Montrose company, Fat Cat Enterprises, was not hurt.
"I am OK," he said standing on the road looking down at the truck that rolled on its passenger side in a hay field. "I have a small tear on my shirt, and a nick on my pants, but that's it."
Because of the wreck, the truck damaged a fence and scattered the logs in the hay field. State trooper Doug Kline responded to the scene to investigate the crash. As of press time, it was unknown whether Johnson was cited for the wreck. Johnson believes the load of logs he was hauling caused the accident.
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