WASATCH COUNTY, Utah, June 7, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Three people are dead after a collision involving four vehicles, two of which burned, on U.S. 189 in Wasatch County.
The accident was called in at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, and took place near 2400 South US-189, near the Charleston/Heber City area, according to UHP public information officer Lt. Nick Street.
A person in a Jeep and two people in a Chevy Trailblazer were the ones who died, Street told Gephardt Daily.
“We are trying to identify them through their VIN numbers,” Street said of the victims and vehicles. Once the owners of the cars are known, the next step will be determining who was in the vehicles, he said. Then next of kin will be notified.
Street said at this point, the ages and genders of the victims are not known.
Street said a red truck with a utility bed was eastbound on US-189 and came upon a Jeep, which was “slowing down or possibly stopped, depending on the witness account,” he said.
“The truck did not slow down, and it rear-ended the Jeep, which burst into flames at that moment, witnesses said.”
The Jeep went into oncoming traffic, and clipped a white Ford Escape, “which was able to continue,” Street said.
The Jeep was then T-boned by a Chevrolet Trailblazer, which also caught fire quickly.
The people in the red truck and the Ford Escort escaped serious injury, Street said. The person in the Jeep and the driver and passenger in the Trailblazer never made it out of their burning vehicles, he said.
“Nobody in those vehicles escaped,” Street said.
The fire also burned an adjacent field, he said.
Street said that as of 8:40 p.m., crews had been on the scene for about three hours, hours, and he expected them to be there at least three or four more.
Traffic cannot pass on US-189, he said, but officers are in place, directing drivers to take a detour, which he said was not congested at the time of the call.
Hours after the accident, the Wasatch County Fire Department shared a couple photos and thoughts regarding the deadly accident.
“Today was a day that we all dread,” the statement says. “When we have a fatal crash we all come together as a team to work together to provide a service that is hard to describe. Wasatch County has an amazing network from the dispatchers who call us out to those who respectfully take care of the victims. The fire from the crash spread to an area in the field nearby burning about 2.5 acres.
“Please be safe out there on these busy highways. We want everyone to make it home safe.”
Gephardt Daily share additional details as they are released.
