Utah Highway Patrol shut down all lanes of Southbound I-15 on Monday July 19 after a fatal accident. (Derek Petersen KSLTV)
SALT LAKE CITY — An early morning car crash killed the driver of a vehicle on I-15 at 5300 South in Murray and also closed all southbound lanes on the freeway for more than an hour during the Monday morning commute.
According to Utah Highway Patrol trooper Jake Gallegos, just before 4:00 a.m. a red Hyundai Accent hit “the right concrete barrier then came across all (southbound) lanes and struck the left concrete barrier before coming to a rest.”
Gallegos says the sole occupant of the vehicle, an 18-year old male, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital.
Crash scene investigators say the victim was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. They are still trying to determine if impairment was a factor along with reckless driving that occurred prior to the collision.
All southbound traffic was diverted off I-15 at 5300 South for over an hour while troopers conducted their investigation.