SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 17, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — An apparent street race in downtown Salt Lake City ended in a violent crash across the street from Brigham Young’s Beehive House early Saturday morning.
The accident totaled one car and caused extensive damage to the famed Eagle Gate Monument at the corner of State and South Temple Street.
An eyewitness told Gephardt Daily that four cars had lined up at the stoplight of the intersection at 100 South and State about 1:05 a.m.
As the cars sped northbound, the driver of a Mazda sedan was forced to make a sudden lane change as the cars converged upon the intersection of South Temple and State Street.
The driver of the Mazda lost control of the vehicle and smashed into the northeast support column for the Eagle Gate Monument. His car then spun around, coming to rest on a staircase of the Eagle Gate Apartments building.
Salt Lake City Police Lt. Scott Smalley told Gephardt Daily that the male driver of the Mazda had to be extricated from his car. He was rushed to the University of Utah Hospital in extremely critical condition, but has since stabilized.
The drivers of the other vehicles, thought to be in their late teens or early 20s, stopped at the scene of the accident and were cooperating with police. Smalley said their exact roles in the accident had yet to be determined.
One eyewitness estimated that the Mazda was traveling 50 to 60 mph at the time of the crash.
“I haven’t heard a noise like that in a long, long time,” he said.
