1963 — June 10, brakes fail, truck with Boy Scouts goes off hill, ~Hole-in-the-Rock, UT– 13

— 13 National Park Service. “Driving the Hole-in-the-Rock Road.”
— 13 Utah Department of Public Safety. “Tragedy at Escalante.” 2011.
— 13 Utah.gov. Utah State History. Markers and Monuments Database. “Boy Scout Memorial.”
— 12 Capital Times, Madison, WI. “Truck Overturns. 12 Die in Scout Accident…” 6-11-1963, 2

Narrative Information

National Park Service: “Mile 44.6, Carcass Wash: A major obstacle for the expedition, as well as the site of a terrible accident that took the lives of 13 Boy Scouts on June 10, 1963. Brake failure on a truck was blamed.” (National Park Service. “Driving the Hole-in-the-Rock Road.”)

Utah Department of Public Safety: “On June 10, 1963, a group of explorer scouts and their adult leaders from Provo and the Salt Lake City area were headed for an outing to Hole-in-the-Rock, Kane County, Utah. They had loaded their camping gear into a large open bed truck. Most of the scouts and many adults were riding on top of their equipment. The last 63 miles of this journey would be traveled on a winding dirt road through some of the most scenic country in Utah. Starting up a steep grade, the driver attempted to shift from second to first gear. The transmission of the 1962 International failed to mesh and the driver revved the engine attempting to mesh the gears. The truck began rolling backwards. The driver applied the brakes; however, the brakes failed to hold. The truck rolled backwards 154 feet and then ran off the road and down a 30 foot drop off. The truck rolled onto its top, crushing many scouts and leaders.

“Tom Heal, 15, and Brian Roundy, 14, were two of the less seriously injured scouts. They walked from the accident scene toward Escalante. After covering a distance of approximately two miles, they came upon Clynn Haws, a rancher from Escalante, who was repairing fences. He immediately summoned help.

“Garfield County Sheriff George Middleton was first on the scene of the accident. Kane County Sheriff Leonard Johnson was in Kanab when he first learned of the accident. He drove the 175 miles to assist at the scene. Trooper Paul Blackburn also drove over 100 miles to arrive at the scene of this tragedy. When he arrived he found Trooper Dean Pierson loading injured scouts into his patrol car. Trooper Steve Brown was responding to the scene with Wayne county Sheriff Earl Brown. When they arrived in Escalante, Trooper Blackburn advised them to stay there, to assist with the injured which were being transported to that location. Trooper Otho Bulkley responded to the Panguitch Hospital where most of the injured were being transported by pickup trucks and station wagons. The Panguitch Hospital had a capacity of only 10 patients. During the next several hours 34 of the injured were treated at this facility. Seven explorer scouts and five adults had been killed. One more scout died a few days later. The accident investigation was turned over to the Utah Highway Patrol and Trooper Paul Blackburn served as the investigating officer.

“The driver of the large truck was Ernest Ahlborn. Trooper Otho Bulkley met with Ernest and talked with him for several hours at the Panguitch Hospital. A witness to this conversation, Nina H. Steele, wrote the following to Colonel Lyle Hyatt. “I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the highway patrolmen who assisted during the recent accident in this area with which 13 individuals lost their lives.” She continued, “I had the opportunity to observe how the highway patrolmen handled this situation because I spent considerable time with Ernest Ahlborn. I stayed with him until his mother arrived. Truly I have never seen such perfect efficient work, combined with human kindness and consideration. They were a wonderful group of men, but I believe I would like to single out Otho Bulkley to give special praise. I am sure he had spent a sleepless night and had been subjected to some trying experiences during that time. However, as I sat and listened to him talk to this young man, who was completely stunned, bewildered, and grief-stricken, I thought a man could not have shown more interest or done a better job if he were talking to his own son. He gave such good advice, many words of wisdom and consolation without placing the blame for the accident anywhere.”

“Lieutenant Paul M. Christenson, in charge of the Richfield office, later reported that Sergeant Julian Fox and St. George mechanic Harry Lundin, discovered that the brake master cylinder was almost completely empty. Furthermore, there were no leaks found in the hydraulic brake system. It appeared the truck simply had not been properly serviced prior to the trip. The accident cause was labeled mechanical, rather than driver error.” (Utah Department of Public Safety. “Tragedy at Escalante.” 2011.)

Utah.gov: “JUST PRIOR TO THE CREATION of Lake Powell, a party of 49, including Explorer Scout Post 36 from LDS Pleasant View 3rd Ward, Provo, Utah, set out on an expedition to run the Colorado River rapids between Hole-in-the-Rock and Glen Canyon. Riding in an open truck, they reached this point at approximately 3:15 on the afternoon of June 10, 1963. The truck stalled as it ascended the grade on your left, and its brakes failed. Rolling backward, it overturned and rolled down the steep embankment on the other side of the sharp curve from this monument. Seven scouts and six adults lost their lives in this tragic highway accident, the third worst in Utah’s history. In loving memory of those who perished: Gary Lynn Christensen, 14 Lynn Louis Merrell, 15 Robert Cook, 29 Randy Wayne Miller, 14 W.A. “Bill” Creer, 39 Marvin Poschatis, 29 Joseph William Erickson, 16 Gary Lynn Rasmussen, 15 Gordon Henry Grow, 15 Dr. Martin J. Shaw, 51 Randy L. Hall, 13 Dr. Harvey Darrell Taylor, 45 Dorothy Hansen, 24 Erected and dedicated June 10, 1993 by the families and friends of those who perished, in cooperation with Kane County and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management….

“Location…Carcass Wash, 2.3 m. SE. of Dance Hall Rock.” (Utah.gov. Utah State History. Markers and Monuments Database. “Boy Scout Memorial.”)

Newspaper

June 11: “Hole-In-Rock, Utah (AP) – The peace that prevails over the southern Utah desert was shattered Monday when a truck carrying 46 explorers overturned killing nine Boy Scouts, two of their leaders and a woman reporter who was covering the venture.

“The list of hospitalized reached 15, with at least two in critical condition, as details of the tragedy slowly came from the scene of the accident in the remote desert area between Escalante and Hole- in-The-Rock on the Colorado River.

“The group was from the Ogden-Salt Lake City-Provo area about 200 miles north. Most were boy scouts, but Floyd Loveridge, chief executive of the scouts in Provo, said the trip was under the auspices of the South Cottonwood Stake (diocese) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Provo area.

“The adventurous expedition was led by a group of teachers and college professors who had led many trips into Utah’s Red Dessert areas. One of the dead was H. Darrell Taylor, 45, a professor of languages at Brigham Young University in Provo and scout leader.

“Another of the leaders, Merlin J. Shaw, 51, of Provo, an assistant professor at VYU and father of six, was killed. Monday was his 26th wedding anniversary.

“The woman reporter, Dorothy Hansen, 24, a vacationing staffer of Sal Lake City’s Desert News, was along for the ride and planned to write a feature article.

“Utah Highway Patrolman Burt Giles said the truck was grinding up a steep grade on a dirt road that had been battered by the fierce desert winds and flash floods when the engine failed.

“The brakes wouldn’t hold and the 2-ton cattle truck plummeted backwards down the incline.

“It finally hurtled off the edge of the road into a deeply eroded gully and flipped over, trapping most of the passengers huddled in the back and crushing some of them. Some were thrown clear.

“Many of the injured were treated at the scene when police and doctors arrived. From Panguitch which is about 80 miles northwest. Private cars carried the more seriously hurt and dead to the Panguitch Hospital.

“But that facility could only accommodate about 10 of the casualties and the rest had to be distributed to hospitals in towns up to 100 miles away from the accident.

“The accident happened about 10 miles north of Hole-in-the-Rock, along the road connecting it with Escalante.

“Hole-in-the-Rock, which is actually a crevice in the towering Glen Canyon, walls along the Colorado River, is a landmark in Utah history. It was here the Mormon missionaries were able to cross the river and settle the uncolonized southeastern section in the last century.

“Nearby, the Escalante River, which was the last major river discovered in the continental United States, cuts through the dull red dirt and sand. It was found by a group from the second John Wesley Powell expedition down the Colorado River in 1871-72.” (Capital Times, Madison, WI. “Truck Overturns. 12 Die in Scout Accident…” 6-11-1963, 2.)

Sources

Capital Times, Madison, WI. “Truck Overturns. 12 Die in Scout Accident…” 6-11-1963, 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/capital-times/1963-06-11/page-2/

National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. “Driving the Hole-in-the-Rock Road.” Accessed 2-3-2012: http://www.nps.gov/glca/planyourvisit/driving-the-hole-in-the-rock-road.htm

Utah Department of Public Safety, Highway Patrol. “Tragedy at Escalante;” 2011. Accessed 8-5-2022 at: https://highwaypatrol.utah.gov/uhp-history/1960-1969/tragedy-at-escalante/

Utah.gov. Utah State History. Markers and Monuments Database. “Boy Scout Memorial.” 2011. Accessed at: http://history.utah.gov/apps/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=1288
[Link now inoperable/broken (8-5-2022).] Photo of memorial can be seen at: https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=1325306&page=3&facet_setname_s=%22dha_mm%22&rows=200&sort=modified_tdt+asc