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Show Emergency Medical Technicians and passersby helped victims of Friday's rollover on Highway 12 north of Tropic as they lay beneath their badly Seatbelts might have made a difference in injuries sustained as three people were ejected, two injured seriously, in a Friday morning accident north of Tropic The 17-year-old driver of an 1978 Ford sedan, traveling east damaged car perched in the trees above them. The vehicle's three occupants were ejected. Two were seriously injured and remain in the hospital. Three Men Are Injured In Friday Morning Rollover North Of Tropic on Highway 12, lost control of their vehicle shortly after passing another car, rolled once and ended end-ed up perched atop trees adjacent to the road with the driver and two passengers scattered on the ground. Driver Laniel Biakeddy, 17, Panguitch, sustained fractures of both legs and passenger Philip Hedge, 52, sustained punctured lungs, broken ribs, and other internal injuries. Both remain hospitalized, Biakeddy at Valley View Hospital in Cedar City and Hedge in intensive care at LDS hospital in Salt Lake City where he was Life Flighted. Less seriously injured was back seat passenger Dennis Dawson, 18. EMT's from Tropic were on the scene within minutes with the accident only about two miles west of town. Several German (See Three Injured In Highway 12 Rollover On Page 3A) Three Injured In Accident From Front Page tourists who witnessed the accident, stayed to assist. State Representative Leonard Black-ham Black-ham and his wife, who were on .their way to an Escalante meeting, meet-ing, also stopped to render aid. The three victims were transported trans-ported to Garfield Memorial Hospital Hos-pital in Panguitch where they were stabilized. Biakeddy and Hedge were subsequently transported trans-ported to Cedar City and Salt Lake City respectively. Investigation is ongoing with possible citations pending according accord-ing to Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Keller. The driver reported a steering problem but Keller said the condition of the badly damaged car might not make a determination possible. Representative Blackham told the legislative group waiting in Escalante he regretted keeping them waiting. He also told them how much impressed he had been with the volunteer medical and accident assistance at the scene and the cohesiveness and coordination coordi-nation shown in giving aid to the victims of the accident and monitoring the accident scene. Assistance was rendered at the scene by employees of Bryce Canyon National Park, the Tropic Voluteer Fire Department and employees and EMTs from nearby area businesses. |