SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 23, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A wrong way driver narrowly avoided a head-on with a semi-truck Friday night, clipping its trailer instead.
The female driver in her 40s was eastbound in an SUV in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 when the crash occurred around 10:45 p.m. near the mouth of Parleys Canyon.
Both vehicles had to be towed from the crash scene, Cpl. Luis Silva, Utah Highway Patrol public information officer, said.
The westbound lanes of I-80 at the crash site were still closed after midnight, he said, as investigation and clean-up continued.
The SUV driver was transported to the University of Utah Medical Center in stable condition with non life-threatening injuries, Silva said.
Impairment was not suspected, he said, the usual factor in wrong-way wrecks.
After a spike last year, Silva said the numbers have dropped lately.
“I’m always surprised by wrong-way crashes, how something like that can happen, especially on an interstate. There could be other reasons I guess, but It’s usually because of impairment or age.”
