Drill rig workers injured in explosion

Two Colorado men were injured Oct. 22 when a motor exploded while they were cleaning out a gas well. The two men, both from Grand Junction, were pumping sand, oil and gas into a flow-back tank when fumes from the tank drifted to the rig motor, causing it to rev up, according to a news release from the Grand County Sheriff’s Department. The men were walking toward to the rig to shut down the motor when the fumes ignited, sheriff’s deputies said.

Both men were close to the fumes at the time of the ignition and suffered burns to their hands and faces. One man, age 25, was transported by St. Mary’s Care Flight helicopter to the University of Utah Intermountain Burn Center for treatment. The other man was treated and released at the scene, according to the report.

The Occupational Safety Health Administration was notified of the accident and an investigation is ongoing, sheriff’s department officials said.

Idaho man dies while biking in Moab

A 42-year-old man died Oct. 23 while riding his mountain bike with friends on the Gold Bar Rim Trail. Grand County Sheriff’s deputies and Grand County Search and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services personnel and rangers from the Bureau of Land Management and Arches National Park were called to the area at about 2:45 p.m. after receiving a report of a man who had fallen ill.

When medical personnel arrived a member of a group of motorcycle riders at the scene was administering CPR. EMS workers continued to administer CPR with an automated electronic defibrillator for approximately one hour but the man did not respond. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses told Grand County Sheriff’s deputies that the man complained of being tired and wanted to walk his bike for a while. His two friends continued to ride on the trail, according to the report. They waited for him to catch up and after about five minutes returned to find a motorcycle rider performing CPR on the unresponsive man.

Dead body found near state Route 313

A woman walking her dog in an area just north of state Route 313 near Dead Horse Point State Park discovered the body of an adult female underneath some trees off the roadside, according to a report from the Grand County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators were called to the area on Oct. 24 at about 10 a.m. and located a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle about 300 yards from the location where the body was found.

Detectives believe the body is that of an American Fork, Utah woman who had been reported missing on Oct. 23, according to the report. The description of the woman and her vehicle match the body and car found at the scene, according to the report.

The body was transported by Spanish Valley Mortuary to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy to determine the cause of death and for positive identification, according to the report.

Mountain biker rescued on Porcupine Rim Trail

A Salt Lake City man became separated from his group during a night ride on Porcupine Rim Trail on Oct. 25. The two other members of the group continued down the trail to their vehicle at Negro Bill Canyon, but became concerned after their friend, who was heading for the Sand Flats Road and planned to meet them in town, did not show up as planned, according to a news report from the Grand County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s deputies and an emergency dispatch worker assisted the friends in finding the lost man. They were reunited at about 5 a.m. Sunday morning. The man who had become lost was suffering from “normal fatigue” due to “a very long ride in the dark,” according to the report.

Moab man arrested for DUI, marijuana

A Moab man who was stopped by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper for committing a lane travel violation was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and for possession of marijuana on Oct. 24.

The man, who was traveling north on U.S. 191, was stopped at about mile marker 120 after the trooper observed him committing the driving infraction and noticed that the driver failed to dim his headlights for oncoming traffic, according to a report from the Utah Highway Patrol. A search of his Ford Escort turned up the marijuana. The DUI charge was enhanced to a class A misdemeanor because there was a 4-year-old traveling in the vehicle with the man, according to the report.