Outline:
Photos depict a vehicle that has apparently hit a bridge guardrail and then flipped completely over a very deep culvert to land in relative safety on the other side
Status:
True
Man hits guard rail and flips end over end over that culvert. Do you think he had an angel on his shoulder? Check out the third picture!!
Detailed Analysis:
These photographs have been posted to various online forums and also circulate via email. The photographs are shots taken after an accident in which a small truck hit a bridge guardrail, flipped, and finally came to rest on the opposite side of the culvert. What makes this accident remarkable is that the vehicle seemingly flew right over a deep canyon and landed very near the canyon’s edge.
The photographs are authentic. According to an article on Snopes.com, the accident happened on Highway 59 near Hurricane City in the American state of Utah. Hurricane City Police confirmed to Snopes.com that such an accident occurred but would not provide specific details because of privacy considerations.
With only the photographs to guide us, we can only speculate on exactly how the accident happened. An examination of the photographs suggests that the vehicle may well have gone through the guardrail and somehow hurtled airborne across the substantial gap to land on the opposite bank. However, the vehicle may also have slid across the top of the culvert parallel to the guardrail before flipping over to land near the canyon bank. A bent guardrail post above the truck’s final position offers some support for this alternative scenario.
Moreover, photographs can sometimes be quite deceptive, depending on the angle they are taken from. There may actually be more room between the guardrail and the edge of the culvert than is apparent in the photos. Also, the truck, and the people surrounding it, may not be quite as close to the edge as they appear.
The photographs have generated a lot of discussion, with many people commenting how “lucky” the driver was to escape the probably fatal fall into the canyon. However, the fact that the vehicle did not go over the side does not mean that the driver was not injured. The photographs show an ambulance and a rescue vehicle are present at the accident, so the driver may well have been seriously injured. Given the number of people working around the crashed truck, the driver may have been still inside, and possibly trapped, when the photographs were taken.
Last updated: 3rd July 2007
First published: 24th January 2007
By Brett M. Christensen
About Hoax-Slayer
References
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Livin’ on the Edge
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
