Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
deseretnews.com | Head-on crash on I-215 kills 2, seriously injures 2
Two people were killed and two others injured Wednesday in a head-on collision involving a minivan carrying state education workers.
Glenn Williams, 52, of Murray, and 33-year-old Christopher Carter Luke, of Bountiful, were killed just before 9 a.m. on I-215 near Redwood Road.
For an unknown reason, Luke's car drifted into the median, drove down it for about 100 yards and then drifted into oncoming traffic, striking a minivan head-on, said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Blaine Robbins. Both vehicles were going freeway speed when they hit, he said.
"You don't have time to react," Robbins said. "When someone comes across the freeway at you like that ... that's a 140-mph impact, 140 mph combined. You don't have time to react."
"When it hit, it looked like an explosion. Everything going everywhere. It was pretty bad," Anthony Figgins, an eyewitness, told KSL TV.
Williams was sitting in the back seat of the minivan. Robbins said he was not wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the minivan, Mitchell William Moyers, 36, and front-seat passenger, 33-year-old Adam Eugene Shewell, were also seriously injured.
Moyers was flown by medical helicopter to University Hospital in critical condition and placed in ICU, Robbins said. Shewell was taken by ambulance to Lakeview Hospital, also in "very, very serious" condition, he said.
"They're both in pretty bad shape," Robbins said.
The cause of the accident was being investigated Wednesday. Some witnesses reported to officials that Luke's head was down when he crossed the median, as if he were either asleep or suffering from a medical condition.
"He did look like his head was slouched a little bit, according to witnesses," Robbins said.
There were no evasive skid marks by the car, the roads were dry and the weather was good, he said. Robbins also said there were also no signs Wednesday of drugs or alcohol being a factor.
All three men in the minivan worked at the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville, State Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson said.
The center is under the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, which is governed by the Utah State Board of Education.
The trio were en route to an Ogden seminar, Peterson said.
"The loss of any among our education family is a sad loss indeed," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington said in a prepared statement. "The loss felt for those who have served Utah citizens who are deaf and/or blind is particularly acute."
The State Board of Education and employees of the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation and the Utah State Office of Education offered condolences to the friends, family and clients of those killed. They also extended "best wishes and prayers" to the injured men and their families, "along with our hopes for a speedy recovery."
Williams was a journey electronics specialist who worked with assistive technology to help communication with the deaf and hard of hearing, Peterson said. He worked to set up electronic systems in the community center, and did home evaluations and set up electronics, such as a flashing light for a ringing doorbell or other alerts for a smoke alarm, in homes of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. He had been with the division seven years.
Moyers, also a seven-year veteran of the division, is an outreach specialist. Shewell, who has been at the center for four years, is a building and grounds supervisor at the center.
The crash was the most serious of several crashes along the Wasatch Front Wednesday morning.
Three unrelated early morning crashes occurred in Parley's Canyon, including two rollovers, Robbins said. Black ice was to blame for the incidents, he said. Three people were treated for minor injuries.
Two people were killed and two others injured Wednesday in a head-on collision involving a minivan carrying state education workers.
Glenn Williams, 52, of Murray, and 33-year-old Christopher Carter Luke, of Bountiful, were killed just before 9 a.m. on I-215 near Redwood Road.
For an unknown reason, Luke's car drifted into the median, drove down it for about 100 yards and then drifted into oncoming traffic, striking a minivan head-on, said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Blaine Robbins. Both vehicles were going freeway speed when they hit, he said.
"You don't have time to react," Robbins said. "When someone comes across the freeway at you like that ... that's a 140-mph impact, 140 mph combined. You don't have time to react."
"When it hit, it looked like an explosion. Everything going everywhere. It was pretty bad," Anthony Figgins, an eyewitness, told KSL TV.
Williams was sitting in the back seat of the minivan. Robbins said he was not wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the minivan, Mitchell William Moyers, 36, and front-seat passenger, 33-year-old Adam Eugene Shewell, were also seriously injured.
Moyers was flown by medical helicopter to University Hospital in critical condition and placed in ICU, Robbins said. Shewell was taken by ambulance to Lakeview Hospital, also in "very, very serious" condition, he said.
"They're both in pretty bad shape," Robbins said.
The cause of the accident was being investigated Wednesday. Some witnesses reported to officials that Luke's head was down when he crossed the median, as if he were either asleep or suffering from a medical condition.
"He did look like his head was slouched a little bit, according to witnesses," Robbins said.
There were no evasive skid marks by the car, the roads were dry and the weather was good, he said. Robbins also said there were also no signs Wednesday of drugs or alcohol being a factor.
All three men in the minivan worked at the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville, State Office of Education spokesman Mark Peterson said.
The center is under the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation, which is governed by the Utah State Board of Education.
The trio were en route to an Ogden seminar, Peterson said.
"The loss of any among our education family is a sad loss indeed," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington said in a prepared statement. "The loss felt for those who have served Utah citizens who are deaf and/or blind is particularly acute."
The State Board of Education and employees of the Utah State Office of Rehabilitation and the Utah State Office of Education offered condolences to the friends, family and clients of those killed. They also extended "best wishes and prayers" to the injured men and their families, "along with our hopes for a speedy recovery."
Williams was a journey electronics specialist who worked with assistive technology to help communication with the deaf and hard of hearing, Peterson said. He worked to set up electronic systems in the community center, and did home evaluations and set up electronics, such as a flashing light for a ringing doorbell or other alerts for a smoke alarm, in homes of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. He had been with the division seven years.
Moyers, also a seven-year veteran of the division, is an outreach specialist. Shewell, who has been at the center for four years, is a building and grounds supervisor at the center.
The crash was the most serious of several crashes along the Wasatch Front Wednesday morning.
Three unrelated early morning crashes occurred in Parley's Canyon, including two rollovers, Robbins said. Black ice was to blame for the incidents, he said. Three people were treated for minor injuries.