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UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 13, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A man was critically injured when the Subaru Forester he was driving against traffic on Interstate 15 slammed into a pickup truck late Friday night.
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Matthew Miller said the Subaru was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes when it crashed into the pickup truck near Mile Marker 270.
The car’s driver was transported to a local hospital with what Miller said were critical injuries.
The driver of the pickup was able to walk out and went to the hospital in a private vehicle.
The drivers were the only people involved.
Miller said it wasn’t exactly a head-on crash, “not a direct hit,” and the Subaru took the brunt of the impact.
He said the mass of the pickup probably absorbed a lot of the energy of the crash, saving the truck’s driver from more serious injury.
“We got calls after it happened,” Miller said. “A trooper happened to be right near the spot northbound and came across (the scene) within seconds.”
No one called to report the wrong-way driver, so officials aren’t sure how long the Subaru was in the northbound lanes, but they don’t think it could have been very long.
Miller said the car was going down the center lane, dodging other vehicles.
“He passed quite a few people,” Miller said. “It’s lucky more people didn’t get hit.”
“We always tell people to look ahead (when they’re driving), but it’s incredibly difficult to predict and prepare for something like this,” he added.
The crash occurred at about 11 p.m. Investigators were still on scene hours later and were just reopening the northbound lanes.
Miller said impairment is suspected as a factor in the crash.
