SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Jan 2, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A wrong-way driver who died in a New Year’s morning crash on I-15 has been identified.
According to Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Beau Mason, 37-year-old Carl E. Olsen of Taylorsville was headed south in the northbound lanes of I-15 around 7:30 a.m. after pulling onto the highway in the wrong direction, via the 900 South off-ramp.
Witnesses say Olsen was approaching the 1300 South ramp when his car suddenly swerved into a wall and rolled, ejecting him from the vehicle.
He died at the scene.
“This guy most likely would have survived with a seatbelt on,” Mason said. “The crash wasn’t that bad. Had he been wearing his seatbelt, I’m almost certain he would have survived this, and maybe even been uninjured.”
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the accident. They say, thus far, there is no direct evidence of drugs or alcohol being involved.
