SALT LAKE CITY — After a recent streak of wrong-way crashes, drivers are wondering what can be done to prevent more deaths and injuries on Utah highways.
“I thought I was going crazy. I didn’t think it was real. I was like, ‘There’s no way there’s a car,’” said Amelia Haskins.
Haskins was one lane away from being part of a fatal Orem crash early Sunday morning.
“We were going pretty fast, so if we didn’t get out of that lane 30 seconds before we did and hit them, I believe we wouldn’t have been okay,” she said.
Instead, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Carlos Rio-Redd intentionally hit the wrong-way vehicle head-on.
“They are faced with a situation either to stop that vehicle or allow them to continue forward and likely cause the death of someone else,” explained UHP Col. Michael Rapich.
The driver, 26-year-old Natalie Munchgesang of Provo, died. Trooper Rio-Redd and Munchgesang’s passenger were transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
“It absolutely infuriates me,” said Rapich. “It puts our troopers probably at the greatest risk of anything they can be involved with short of a firearms incident or dealing with an armed suspect.”
The weekend before, troopers in Weber and Summit counties had to intervene using the same method.
FOX 13 News’ Driven to Change segments have asked viewers to share their concerns and pitch ways to solve the problem.
Multiple viewers have suggested UDOT look into installing wrong-way tire spikes to prevent cars from entering on the off-ramp. FOX 13 News took those ideas to experts to see whether it could be part of the solution.
“There was a drive-in across the street from my house when I was a kid. They had those spike things so people couldn’t sneak into the theater,” explained Aaron Day. “I think those spikes would help a lot.”
Mitch Shaw with UDOT said tire spikes are not designed for fast-moving vehicles, they’re meant for parking lots and vehicles traveling at 5 mph.
“It wouldn’t work like people think it would. There’s just a lot of reasons why it would actually create more of a hazard,” he said.
Plus, snow, ice, and salt could create a maintenance nightmare.
“That stuff can get underneath these strips, prevent them from going down so even people driving the correct way could potentially see their tires get ruined,” Shaw explained.
That’s why UDOT is hoping brand new wrong-way driver detection systems will help. The state installed 15 of the systems at popular off-ramps across Utah and plans to add another eight more.
“A static sign versus a sign that lights up and is animated, that’s most likely going to draw somebody’s attention,” said Shaw.
