MILLCREEK — A driver was pinned and five pedestrians struck in a crash at a Starbucks coffee shop near 4700 S. Highland Drive. At least one person is dead.
The deceased victim from the accident in Millcreek is Joslyn Nicole Spilsbury of Salt Lake City. The driver is a 34 year old male from Oakley, UT.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said officers were investigating whether the driver suffered some kind of medical problem leading up to the accident.
She sympathized with the victims as well as those who merely witnessed the accident.
“It’s just devastating to this community. You can come and visit with friends and have a cup of coffee, and not even realize that it could be your last day,” Rivera said in an interview with reporters. “For those witnesses who saw this happen, it is just devastating. And for law enforcement, we see these types of tragic incidents and it stays with us as well.”
She praised bystanders who lended a hand in the aftermath.
“Two citizens had the children on their laps and were comforting them. They had some stuffed animals with them, and were trying to keep them calm while mom got here.”
It appears the mom took the children to the hospital to be checked out
Investigators are talking to all the surrounding businesses and looking for any video that may shed more light on exactly what happened.
Police say initially, they were told the truck was going at a high rate of speed on Highland Drive. Witnesses and track marks pointed investigators to a allyway or side street on the east side of Highland, and now they say the truck sped from east to west across Highland and jumped the curb and rolled, hitting the group on the patio and also the pillar on the building.
Both Starbucks and Sports Clips, nearby, will need building repairs.
