PROVO, Utah, Dec. 30, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Weather conditions and driving too fast were sending drivers off the road Friday night in Provo Canyon.
Two people in a Volkswagen Atlas SUV ended up in the Provo river, losing control and sliding off State Road 92 coming down the canyon from the Sundance Resort, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
The incident around 6:30 p.m. sent the male driver and his 6-year-old passenger to the hospital, said Sgt. Brian Peterson, UHP public information officer, although injuries were not life-threatening.
The North Fork Fire Department posted online just before 8 p.m. that the road was still closed. Peterson said delays were encountered as a tow truck labored to pull the SUV from the river and snow plows were working to clear the road, which he believed had reopened by 10 p.m.
“Weather was definitely a factor and speed is a big factor,” he said. The posted speed limit is 55 mph for the four-lane highway, Peterson said, but not advisable when its covered with snow.
But 10 p.m. had brought two more slide-offs a few miles apart some ten miles from the Atlas SUV mishap, he said, although the highway reportedly remained open.
No serious injuries were reported, with one motorist able to call for his own tow-truck, Peterson said, and all had avoided slipping into the river.
