AMERICAN FORK, Utah — Traffic was delayed for several hours Thursday morning after a fatal crash in American Fork involving a person who was changing a tire on the side of the freeway.
The crash happened on northbound Interstate 15 near milepost 278, near the Main Street exit.
Officials report a man was changing their tire just before 6:30 a.m. when they were hit by another vehicle.
“He put on the hazard lines,” said Sgt. Andrew Battenfield. “He put on a reflective vest.”
The accident remains under investigation.
“I’m not sure where the individual was when he was actually struck,” added Battenfield. “There was no damage to the vehicle that that tire was being changed, so speculation is that he was in the roadway.”
Last year, Utah passed a law requiring drivers to move over and change lanes if there’s a car on the shoulder with its hazard lights on.
Despite the new regulation, Mark Pierce, Owner and Instructor of Pierce Driving School, still tells students that you can’t trust that all drivers will give you space.
“There are so many people that are on their phones or they’re distracted and not really paying attention, so if you’re on the side of the road, that’s the hardest thing,” he said. “You don’t really want to be in that situation.”
Pierce discourages drivers to fix a flat tire on the freeway and tells students to slow down and try to make it to the nearest exit.
“Put your emergency signals on,” he said. “If you are going to fix this flat tire, then maybe you need to see if you have a flare or something that you could put in the back approximately maybe 100 feet back so the other drivers know that there is something going on.”
Those who do find themselves needing to change a tire on the side of the highway can call 911 and a UHP trooper will assist.