Children rescued from sinking vehicle at Utah reservoir

The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A 9-year-old boy who was stuck submerged underwater at a Utah reservoir for more than 10 minutes remains hospitalized and in critical condition on Monday.

The boy and his two siblings were in their family’s truck when it slid down a boat ramp while they were loading kayaks at Smith and Morehouse Reservoir, a popular recreation spot about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Park City, Utah.

Summit County Sheriff’s Captain Andrew Wright told KSL that three children were in the vehicle that slid in to the reservoir and two were able to escape — one swam to safety, while the other was rescued by her grandfather.

Authorities are unsure why the truck slid into the water.

The boy, who authorities did not name because he was a minor, was flown in a medical helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Utah’s reservoirs are popular spots to visit during summer. In June and July, teenagers not wearing life jackets drowned at southwestern Utah’s Newcastle Reservoir and Deer Creek State Park on the backside of the Wasatch Mountains. An adult man, also not wearing a life jacket, drowned at Rockport Reservoir near Park City in July.