NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah (KUTV) — A crash early Friday morning in Davis County created a hazardous situation for hundreds of vehicles before the Utah Highway Patrol arrived and closed all but one lane on southbound I-15.
The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 2 on a section of the interstate that branches off to I-215 and intersects with Highway 89 near the northern Salt Lake County border. The rainy conditions left the road surface slick and covered with standing water while simultaneously erasing the reflective lane striping. Spraying mist from commuters’ tires was adding an additional layer of opacity.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden said a gray Hyundai was traveling too fast for the wet conditions on the southbound lanes when it lost control.
The car ended up crashing into the concrete barrier on the right side of the freeway, disabling it and leaving it sideways in the middle of the road, Roden said. The vehicle’s light color mimicked the reflections of headlines on the wet highway, and its lack of emergency flashers left it camouflaged among the low lighting.
The driver of the second involved vehicle didn’t see it in time and crashed into the driver’s side of the first vehicle.
Passersby stopped and were able to remove the driver from the Hyundai, Roden said. It wasn’t clear if the driver was removed before or after the car was hit by the second vehicle.
Roden said the driver was transported to the hospital with “moderate” injuries. The extent of the injuries were unknown.
KUTV 2News digital producer Matthew Jacobson was commuting into Salt Lake City moments after the crash happened. He was recording a time lapse video of the road conditions via his dashcam when he came upon the wreckage and had to swerve to avoid hitting the disabled car.
The highway was strewn with debris, and the force from the impact of the second vehicle must have been forceful enough to spin the vehicle completely around. A slowed-down version of the time lapse video shows the Hyundai with the passenger side facing traffic.
As the morning continued, more crashes began popping up, and by 8 a.m., there were three semi-truck crashes in northern Utah that were being responded to simultaneously.
The Friday morning weather was leaving roadways hazardous across Utah, with a winter weather advisory in place for areas around the I-15 corridor and multiple northeast counties, a winter storm warning issued for the southern end of the state, and an avalanche warning for the mountains of southwestern Utah.
Drivers were being urged to slow down to avoid hydroplaning.