OGDEN, Utah — One person is dead after Utah Highway Patrol detailed how two unfortunate circumstances combined into one horrific crash on Interstate 15 in Ogden Tuesday morning.
The person killed was stopped because of a flat tire, hit by a driver who drifted onto the shoulder.
UHP Lieutenant Mike McKay said employees in a construction truck hauling a Bobcat on a trailer pulled over to the left side of northbound I-15 near 24th Street in Ogden after noticing the flat at approximately 11:40 a.m.
Two men got out to look at the flat tire, McKay explained, when a second truck from the same company towing a cement mixer pulled over to help.
“A second construction truck pulled up to the scene and told them that they were going to move the vehicle off the roadway, to get back into the truck,” he said. “They were in the process of walking back up to get in their truck.”
The two workers were on the passenger side of the front truck next to the left lane of the freeway when at that moment, McKay said a woman driving a pickup truck drifted out of her lane and into the shoulder where the second truck was parked with the cement mixer.
“[She] struck the [cement mixer], hit the truck, hit the next trailer and truck, and then struck the individuals that were almost to the cab,” he explained.
UHP said the impact threw one of the men over the other side of I-15. He was transported to a hospital by air ambulance and died shortly afterward.
The second person is severely injured with internal injuries, McKay said, and at last, update was in emergency surgery.
The woman driving the pickup, he said, did not immediately stop after hitting the men. Her truck ended up down the interstate from the accident. They are investigating why the truck continued down the road, and why the woman drifted into the shoulder in the first place.
She was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, McKay said.
His message for drivers was two-fold:
First, do not attempt to get out of the vehicle on the side of the road for any reason. Instead, stay inside and call UHP to come help.
“If you experience a problem with your car, a flat tire, we’d want you to pull off to the right edge of the roadway, and even to the next exit off the exit,” McKay said.
And second, drivers need to pay attention, making sure to slow down and move over if they see someone pulled off to the side of the road.
“We just need to make sure that people are paying attention looking down the roadway, looking for those hazards,” he said.
Lanes in both directions of I-15 were closed for a few hours, creating a traffic jam around Ogden.
UHP said Tuesday evening, they will complete their investigation and then consult with the county attorney on whether any charges are appropriate.