(In the back, the gold Honda that hit the woman and her twin daughters. In the front, the pick-up that reportedly hit the Honda, pushing it into the pedestrians. Credit: Paul Nelson)
TAYLORSVILLE – A mother and her surviving daughter are still being treated for serious injuries after a deadly auto-pedestrian crash that killed a two-year-old girl. People living near the crash site say speed is a constant problem, and investigators are trying to determine if the road, itself, may have been a factor in the crash.
Residents living along 3200 West north of 5300 South say they frequently see people speeding through the area. However, Unified Police Sergeant Melody Gray said they haven’t received a lot of complaints about that particular road. This crash will make them take a closer look at how traffic moves along that portion of 3200 West.
“We’re actually pulling some statistics to see what we’ve got as far as accidents on that road,” Gray said.
Investigators still aren’t sure exactly how fast the two drivers were going before a dog ran out into the street, causing the chain-reaction crash. Gray said that along with their office, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) will also examine the street to determine if safety updates are needed.
“Any time we have an accident like this, with a fatality, UDOT comes out to look at the roadway. They take a lot of pictures and measurements just to make sure it’s not an actual problem with the roadway, itself,” she said.
If officers find a problem with frequent speeders, Gray said they’ll take action. That includes the possibility of posting speed boards.
“They [UDOT} usually start by trying to do some education with the people that normally drive in that area. From there, they’ll do some enforcement and see if we can’t curtail that problem,” according to Gray.
For now, Gray said it still appears this was just a tragic accident. She said there are still no obvious signs of impairment from either driver. However, they’re still waiting for the blood work to confirm it. Unified police are also trying to determine if either driver was on their phone.
“They’ll do cell phone downloads to see if there was any possible distraction on the part of either driver,” Gray said.
Police believe they know who owns the dog that walked into traffic. They’re not releasing any more information at this time.