Various news sources online say that around 4:00am this morning a man was killed and another was seriously injured in what must have been a very violent car crash on eastbound I-80 near Wendover. The Utah Highway Patrol is saying that near mile marker 36  the driver drifted left towards the center median, and then drastically over-corrected back to the right, flipping his Chevy Trailblazer and rolling it FIVE times. The car finally landed upright about 30 feet from the highway.

Chevy Trailblazer rolled on I-80 early this morning. Photo courtesy of the UHP and the Salt Lake Tribune

The passenger, 36 year old Raul Luna from Roy, Utah was ejected from the car and died on the scene.  The driver, a 36 year old man from Salt Lake County sustained serious injuries and was air-lifted to University Hospital.  He is expected to survive.

The UHP is still investigating the accident, but suggests that alcohol was involved in the crash and that the driver was wearing his seat belt, but the passenger probably wasn’t.

Given the earliness of the hour, I suspect the driver was tired and falling asleep at the wheel. If the men had been drinking and we’re headed home from partying in Wendover, the only thing about this crash that is fortunate is that no other cars were involved and no one else was hurt as a result.

The names of the two men have not yet been released. As always, my condolences go out to their families and loved ones.

Again folks, please be careful out there on the road. Drunk driving and fatigued driving gets people killed. And here is one more example that seat belts really do save lives.

When I came into my office this morning, I read that a 19 year old woman from Provo, Utah died early this morning in an apparent one-car crash near Sugar City, Idaho.

Idaho State Police are saying that Kristan R. Lusvardi, driving alone around 12:30am was traveling eastbound on U.S Highway 20 just north of Sugar City. For some reason, Lusvardi’s car appears to have drifted across the center median and all the way across the oncoming westbound lanes, finally crashing through a fence and into a ditch.

Various reports suggest Lusvardi was still alive when first-responders came to her aid, but unfortunately she did not survive the life-flight to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash, but they are suggesting alcohol or drugs may have been involved, and that Lusvardi was sadly not wearing a seat belt.

I can only imagine that with a young lady driving alone, late at night a long way from home, fatigue may have also been a factor in this tragic accident. My condolences go out to Kristan Lusvardi’s family and loved ones.

Please folks, be careful out on the road. Wear your seatbelt. Don’t drink and drive. Be safe.