[gt-link lang="es" label="Se Habla Español" widget_look="lang_names"]
[gt-link lang="en" label="English" widget_look="lang_names"]
Murray, Utah sits at the heart of one of the most heavily trafficked freight corridors in the Intermountain West. The I-15 and State Street corridors that cut through Salt Lake County carry thousands of commercial trucks every single day, and the results can be devastating when something goes wrong. If you or someone you love was hurt in a truck accident on a dangerous road in Murray, Utah, you need to know your rights quickly, because time limits and evidence can disappear fast. At BAM Injury Law, our attorneys have helped injured Utahns recover compensation after serious crashes, and we offer free consultations in English and Spanish. Under the BAM Guarantee, you pay nothing unless we win your case.
Murray is positioned at the geographic center of Salt Lake County, making it a natural pass-through point for commercial freight moving north toward Salt Lake City and south toward Provo, St. George, and Las Vegas. The city's road network blends high-speed freeway travel with congested surface streets lined with strip malls, distribution centers, and residential neighborhoods. That combination creates constant conflict between heavy commercial vehicles and everyday drivers.
Salt Lake County's warehouse and distribution industry has grown significantly, and Murray serves as a connector between major fulfillment hubs along the I-15 corridor. Delivery trucks, flatbeds, tanker trucks, and tractor-trailers all share the same roads with commuters, cyclists, and pedestrians. When a fully loaded semi-truck weighing 80,000 pounds collides with a passenger vehicle, the outcome is almost always catastrophic for the people in the smaller car.
Understanding which roads carry the most risk can help you make sense of what happened to you or a family member. It can also help your attorney explain to a jury or an insurance company exactly why the crash location matters.
Interstate 15 is the single most important commercial trucking route in the state of Utah. Through Murray, I-15 carries an enormous daily volume of freight traffic, including everything from refrigerated food trucks to oversized construction loads. The stretch of I-15 between the 5300 South interchange and the 4500 South interchange is particularly dense with commercial traffic because it connects to several major arterial roads that serve nearby industrial and retail zones.
The lane configurations and interchange designs along I-15 in Murray force trucks to make frequent merges and lane changes. Drivers who are unfamiliar with the exits, or who are fatigued after long hauls, can misjudge gaps in traffic at high speeds. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration limits truck drivers to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, but fatigue-related errors still happen, and they happen most often during the final hours of a driver's legal shift.
Rear-end collisions, jackknife crashes, and underride accidents are among the most common truck accident types on I-15 in the Murray area. An underride crash occurs when a smaller vehicle slides beneath the trailer of a semi-truck, often with fatal results. If you were injured in an I-15 truck accident near Murray, preserving the truck's black box data is one of the first steps your attorney needs to take.
UDOT regularly schedules construction and maintenance projects along the I-15 corridor in Salt Lake County, and these work zones narrow lanes and force both trucks and passenger vehicles into unfamiliar configurations. Truck drivers who rely on GPS systems without real-time construction updates may not slow down in time to avoid backed-up traffic. Work zone truck accidents often involve multiple vehicles and serious injuries.
State Street (US-89) runs directly through the heart of Murray and is lined with businesses, shopping centers, fast food restaurants, and auto dealerships. It is also one of the most active delivery routes in the county. Box trucks, delivery vans, and commercial vehicles make constant stops along State Street, pulling in and out of parking lots and loading zones throughout the day.
The intersections along State Street, particularly near Murray Central TRAX Station and the Intermountain Medical Center area, see heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic at all hours. Left-turn crashes involving commercial trucks are especially dangerous because the truck's cab may complete the turn before the driver realizes a vehicle or pedestrian is in the crosswalk or merge lane. Trucks also have large blind spots, known as "no-zones," on all four sides of the vehicle.
If a truck driver failed to yield, ran a red light, or cut across a lane without signaling on State Street and hit you, that driver and the company that employs them may both be liable for your injuries. Our attorneys at BAM Injury Law know how to investigate both the driver's record and the trucking company's safety history.
Double-parked delivery trucks on State Street force passenger vehicles into adjacent lanes of moving traffic. When a driver swerves to avoid a parked truck and enters oncoming traffic or a bicycle lane, the consequences can include serious collisions. In these situations, liability can extend to the delivery company if it failed to train drivers on safe stopping procedures or allowed unsafe delivery schedules that pressure drivers into cutting corners.
The roads east and southeast of I-15 in Murray, including 900 East and connecting surface streets near the Murray industrial corridor, carry heavy truck traffic that most commuters do not think of as a freight zone. Distribution centers and light manufacturing facilities in this area generate regular traffic from semi-trucks and flatbed loads. These roads were not all designed with large commercial vehicles in mind, and the resulting tight turns and limited sight lines create hazardous conditions.
One of the underappreciated dangers in Murray's warehouse corridor is the way industrial roads intersect with residential neighborhoods. Children walk to school, cyclists use bike lanes, and residents back out of driveways in areas where delivery trucks are making morning and afternoon runs. Speed differentials between trucks and pedestrians or cyclists make even low-speed truck accidents life-altering.
If you were hit by a commercial truck on a neighborhood road near Murray's industrial areas, do not assume the crash is too minor to pursue. Soft tissue injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and broken bones can result from collisions at speeds well under 30 miles per hour. Our attorneys can help you evaluate whether your injuries meet the threshold for a claim under Utah law. You can also learn more about how Utah's no-fault insurance rules affect truck accident claims and what steps to take immediately after a crash.
Bangerter Highway (SR-154) runs along the western edge of Murray and serves as an alternative freight route when I-15 is congested or under construction. Trucks carrying oversized loads or hazardous materials sometimes use Bangerter to avoid freeway weigh stations or navigate around traffic backups. The highway's grade-separated interchanges and higher speed limits make truck accidents along this corridor particularly serious.
Tanker trucks carrying fuel, chemicals, or other hazardous materials use Bangerter as part of their Salt Lake Valley delivery routes. When a tanker truck is involved in a crash, the risk of explosion, fire, or toxic spill adds layers of danger for first responders and nearby residents. Crash victims in hazmat incidents may face medical complications far beyond the initial impact injuries.
Oversized loads that require pilot cars and special permits also travel along Bangerter and connecting surface streets. If an oversized load was not properly secured, marked, or escorted and caused your accident, the permitting agency, the trucking company, and the load's shipper may all share responsibility. These are complex multi-party claims that benefit from experienced legal representation from the very beginning.
The BAM Guarantee: You pay nothing unless we win. Free consultations in English and Spanish.
A fully loaded commercial semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds under federal regulations. A typical passenger sedan weighs around 3,500 to 4,500 pounds. When these two vehicles collide, the physics are not close to equal. The forces involved in a truck crash are capable of causing spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures, internal bleeding, and fatalities that a standard car crash at the same speed would never produce.
Trucking companies and their insurers know this, and they respond to serious accidents quickly. Investigators may arrive at a crash scene within hours to gather evidence that supports the company's defense. This is why injured victims and their families need to act just as fast. Evidence that protects your claim, like the truck's electronic data recorder, dashcam footage, and the driver's logbook, can be overwritten, deleted, or legally destroyed if you do not send a preservation demand immediately.
Utah is a no-fault insurance state. That means after most vehicle accidents, your own personal injury protection, called PIP, coverage pays your initial medical bills and lost wages regardless of who caused the crash. Utah requires a minimum of $3,000 in PIP coverage. For truck accidents, however, injuries almost always exceed PIP limits, which opens the door to a direct claim against the at-fault driver and trucking company.
To step outside the no-fault system and sue the at-fault party in Utah, you generally must have sustained a serious injury or medical expenses exceeding $3,000. Given the nature of truck accidents, most victims qualify to pursue a third-party claim. You should also know that Utah's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is four years from the date of the accident. While four years may seem like ample time, evidence preservation and witness memories begin fading immediately after a crash.
For more detail on the legal process, see our guide on what to expect when filing a truck accident claim in Utah. Our Murray attorneys handle every stage of the claim, from the initial investigation through negotiation and, if necessary, trial.
Commercial trucks are required to carry electronic data recorders, often called black boxes or EDRs, and many also use electronic logging devices, called ELDs, to track driver hours of service. These devices record speed, braking patterns, engine activity, and whether the driver was complying with federal hours-of-service rules at the time of the crash. This data is among the most powerful evidence available in a truck accident case.
The problem is that ELD and EDR data can be automatically overwritten within days or even hours if the trucking company does not preserve it. Federal regulations require truck drivers to maintain hours-of-service records, but the company controls the data systems. An attorney must send a written spoliation letter demanding preservation of all electronic data, dashcam footage, maintenance logs, and driver records as soon as possible after the crash.
Other evidence that can disappear quickly includes skid marks and road debris at the scene, witness contact information, surveillance footage from nearby businesses, and the truck driver's post-accident drug and alcohol test results. Photographs taken at the scene by you or a bystander can be some of the most important evidence in your case, so preserve everything you have.
The steps you take in the hours and days after a truck accident in Murray can directly affect the outcome of your claim. First, seek emergency medical care even if you feel fine at the scene. Adrenaline masks pain, and injuries like internal bleeding or concussion may not produce obvious symptoms right away. A documented medical visit creates a record that connects your injuries to the crash.
Second, call the police and make sure a crash report is filed. Ask for the truck driver's name, commercial driver's license number, employer information, and the truck's DOT number, which is displayed on the side of the cab. Take photos of the scene, both vehicles, road conditions, and any visible injuries before anything is moved.
Third, do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company's insurance adjuster before speaking with an attorney. Insurance adjusters for commercial carriers are trained to gather information that limits the company's liability. Anything you say can be used to reduce or deny your claim. Contact BAM Injury Law for a free consultation before you make any statements. You can also review our page on common mistakes to avoid after a Utah truck accident to protect your rights from the very start.
I-15 through Murray carries some of the highest volumes of commercial truck traffic in the state because it connects major freight hubs in Salt Lake County with routes heading north and south through Utah. The interchanges near 4500 South and 5300 South require frequent merging and lane changes, which create conflict points between trucks and passenger vehicles. Truck drivers who are fatigued, distracted, or unfamiliar with the corridor may misjudge gaps in traffic at freeway speeds. When a crash occurs at those speeds involving a vehicle weighing tens of thousands of pounds, serious injury or death is a likely outcome.
Yes, you can potentially sue both the truck driver and the trucking company after a crash on State Street in Murray. Trucking companies can be held liable under a legal principle called respondeat superior if the driver was acting within the scope of their employment at the time of the crash. Companies can also face direct liability for negligent hiring, negligent training, or failing to maintain their vehicles in safe operating condition. An attorney can investigate the company's
"*" indicates required fields