TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, June 4, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A 20-year-old man who died Saturday afternoon in Taylorsville when the red car he was driving turned without right of way, clipped a silver car, and set off a fatal chain of events has been identified.
The victim has been identified as Bobby Tupoumalohi, of Kearns, the Unified Police Department said in a tweet Sunday morning.
Lt. Brian Lohrke, Unified Police Department, said witnesses reported that the red car went airborne and wrapped tightly around a pole, immediately catching fire.
Because of the blaze and the crushing damage to the car, witnesses were unable to attempt to rescue the driver, who died in the wreckage.
It happened at about 3 p.m. at the intersection of 2700 West and 5400 South.
“According to witnesses, there was a red car that was driving very recklessly eastbound on 5400 South,” Lohrke told Gephardt Daily. “As it approached the intersection, there was a red light.”
A silver car was westbound, attempting to turn south, Lohrke said.
“According to witnesses, the silver car had the right of way, and the red car ran a red light, clipping the silver car, causing the red car to go airborne. It wrapped around the pole and caught on fire …. Unfortunately, one person did pass away in the wreckage.”
The driver of the silver car did not suffer serious injuries, and she should be OK, Lohrke said.
“We are going to be investigating this for quite some time,” Lohrke said, referring to the severity of the crash.
A CAR team was called to the site, to attempt to reconstruct the accident from available evidence.
Lohrke said it is likely drugs and alcohol will be investigated as possible contributors to the victim’s reckless driving.
20 yrs old is much too young to die. Prayers and comfort for the family.