A serious auto accident on Interstate 80- at the Tooele and Salt Lake County lines left one dead and another critically injured. It also caused the highway to be closed for several hours on Saturday, June 13. The Salt Lake Tribune reports the victim was Mark Neilson of Magna, Utah.

The crash happened at about 11 am, when Neilson’s Dodge Dakota crossed the median and hit a FedEx triple-trailer head-on. Part of the FedEx truck was packed with ammunition. The severity of the crash started a fire that caused some of the ammunition to go off and engulfed the cars in flames.

The initial investigation revealed that Neilson was cut off by a white pickup truck that fled the scene. Authorities publicized the description of the truck, and Tuesday morning the driver of the truck’s daughter recognized the description and  turned her father  into authorities for questioning.

After being cut off, Neilson crossed the median through a turn-off in a cable barrier. Neilson was burned beyond recognition in the accident and the driver of the FedEx truck was flown to University Hospital in critical condition. I offer my sincere condolences to the Neilson family as they grieve this loss, and wish the driver of the FedEx semi-trailer a speedy recovery.

It is still unclear what role the driver of the white pickup played in this accident. From the news reports, it sounds like he may have been the one who set the crash in motion if he did in fact cut off another driver. If a driver suddenly merges into your lane, the instinct is to move out of the way to avoid the crash. That may have been what happened here. If in fact it was the negligence of the driver of the white pickup that caused Nielson to take corrective action to avoid the crash, then that driver would be legally responsible for the chain of events that naturally followed from his actions. We know that the driver was questioned and released. We’ll wait to hear what if any charges may be filed against this individual.

Ron Kramer is a personal injury attorney with offices in Bountiful, Draper and Provo, Utah.

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.