BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah, March 29, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Highway Patrol has released the names of three people who died as a result of a five-vehicle collision Monday in Box Elder County.
The victims were Volvo semi driver Bogdan Jutrznia, 63, from Burlington, Ontario, Canada; and Ford V-Max driver Lewis H. Tarrant, 76, and passenger Eileen C. Riordan, 72, both from Seattle, Washington.
The crash was reported at about noon on Monday. UHP troopers responded to northbound Interstate 15, milepost 352.
“A preliminary investigation showed traffic was slow in the area due to crews clearing a jackknifed semi two miles north from a crash earlier that morning,” a UHP update says.
“For an unknown reason, a semi-truck (Volvo) pulling a single trailer failed to recognize the slower traffic and struck the back of a Ford passenger car that was traveling ahead of it.
“The Ford passenger car was sent into a Nissan van that went off the left side of the road. The Ford continued and crashed into the semi’s trailer that initially hit them. The initial semi continued north and crashed into the rear of another semi (Freightliner), pulling double trailers. The impact from that crash pushed the trailer of the Freightliner into the next lane, where it struck another semi (Freightliner), pulling a single trailer.”
All three victims died as a direct result of the crash, the statement says.
“All other injuries were minor and did not require transport. I-15 northbound was blocked for over five hours as crews investigated and cleared the scene.”
