IRON COUNTY, Utah, Aug. 18, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A crash on Interstate 15 near Parowan took the life of an 8-year-old boy Saturday afternoon.
A news release from Utah Highway Patrol said the crash occurred at about 1:45 p.m., when a silver Venture van was traveling north on I-15. At milepost 81, near Parowan, the driver lost control of the van and it veered to the right shoulder. Officials said it isn’t known why the van veered out of control.
The driver swerved back to the left, which caused the van to slide, UHP said.
When the van came back onto the road, it struck a Toyota Camry and caused the Camry to veer off the road and through a fence.
The van continued to slide, then rolled, and came to rest on the road, the news release said.
An 8-year-old passenger in the van, Jonathan Chapman, of Enoch, was ejected from the vehicle and suffered fatal injuries. He died at the scene.
Five other occupants of the van were transported to the hospital in Cedar City with injuries that were not life-threatening, the release states. Everyone in the van was wearing a seat belt.
Two people in the Camry were wearing their seat belts and weren’t injured.
According to the news release, investigators are considering the possibility that the young boy who died was wearing his seat belt incorrectly or that it didn’t fit him properly.
