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Utah roads littered with fatal, serious accidents over holiday weekend

Posted at 8:17 PM, May 25, 2015
and last updated 2015-05-26 09:45:38-04

TOOELE COUNTY, Utah -- A rollover in Tooele County sent three people to the hospital and shut down Interstate 80 for more than an hour Monday morning.

The crash occurred at about 11 a.m. in eastbound lanes near Dugway. This is the fourth rollover since Friday, according to Utah Highway Patrol.

Witnesses also traveling east on I-80 noticed the white four-door Honda going below the speed limit and weaving in and out of its lane.

Investigators believe the crash may have been the result of drowsy driving. The car went off the road, overturned and rolled.

"The driver wasn't wearing a seat belt, he was ejected, the passenger had a seat belt on but only a lap portion on, it kept him in the car, but he still received some pretty good injuries,” said Sgt. Nathan Powell with UHP.

The 22-year-old female passenger in the back had non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital by ambulance. The male driver, 24, and front seat male passenger, age 22, were air lifted to a hospital in critical condition.

UHP responded to several serious accidents across the state this Memorial Day weekend.

Since Friday there have been two fatal crashes and several serious injury crashes involving drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts.

UHP had an additional 200 troopers on the roadways for the holiday weekend. This weekend was also the kickoff to what Utah Department of Transportation calls the “100 deadliest days of summer.”

Fatal crashes are up and 50 percent of those fatalities are the result of Utahns not wearing their seat belts.

“Yes, that simple act of putting your seat belt on makes a lot of difference,” Powell said.