OREM, Utah — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was injured early Sunday after being struck by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 15 in Orem.
The trooper responded to a report of a driver heading southbound in the wrong lanes of the highway just before 2 a.m.
According to the Orem Police Department, the trooper and wrong-way driver collided in a serious accident in which the trooper was injured and was transported to the hospital.
The driver of the wrong-way vehicle, identified Monday as 26-year-old Natalie Munchgesang of Provo, was killed in the collision, while a passenger was critically injured. Utah Highway Patrol told FOX 13 News that while the trooper will require surgery, they are otherwise in "good spirits."
Gov. Spencer Cox posted additional details on social media, identifying Trooper Carlos Rios-Redd as the one who took the wrong-way driver head-on. He suffered a broken femur and ankle and was "incapacitated," the governor said.
Shortly afterward, UHP Trooper Ben Fagan arrived at the scene. Rios-Redd's patrol car had caught fire; Fagan extinguished the flames, then broke the window with his hand and pulled his colleague out as the interior filled with smoke.
"I am grateful for selfless and courageous law enforcement officials who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe," Cox wrote, adding that his prayers are with the family of the deceased driver.
The Utah County Officer Involved Critical Incident Team responded to the scene and is conducting an investigation of the incident.
