SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — A driver who was traveling in the opposite direction of traffic on a Utah highway was killed in a crash involving two other vehicles late Wednesday night.
The crash marks the third wrong-way driver incident in the last week. Over the weekend, officials in Weber and Summit counties stopped two wrong-way drivers. Only minor injuries were reported in each of those incidents.
VIDEO: Summit County deputy rams SUV to stop wrong-way driver
The most recent crash happened just after 11:30 p.m. on Interstate 80 near mile marker 130, which is in Parleys Canyon and on the border between Salt Lake and Summit counties.
Utah Highway Patrol reported that troopers first received word of a wrong-way driver in a Toyota Tacoma in westbound lanes of I-80 near 700 East.
Shortly after, a crash was reported in Parleys Canyon involving the wrong-way driver, as well as a second Toyota Tacoma truck and Honda Element SUV.
The driver of the wrong-way vehicle, who was not identified by officials, sustained life-threatening injuries and was pronounced deceased by medical responders.
In the second pickup truck, the driver became trapped inside following the crash as the body became separated from the frame of the truck. UHP said he was extricated and taken to the hospital with "significant" but not life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries in the crash and was also taken to the hospital.
After the crash, westbound lanes of I-80 were shut down for several hours as officials investigated and cleaned up.
Two of the three crashes this week are being investigated as DUIs.
Kathy Jessop remembers when her family had a close call thirteen years ago.
“It just brings me back,” she said. “That was very traumatic for me because I had my kids with me.”
She said she was heading westbound on the I-215 near State Street with her two children in the backseat. Suddenly, a car that was facing the wrong way appeared out of nowhere.
“I was very fortunate that I wasn’t drinking my coffee and I had seconds to swerve,” said Jessop.
She made it out okay, but was told other drivers did not.
“Unfortunately the two cars behind me, I saw them hit back-to-back,” said Jessop. “I know that people died in that accident because I had a friend who worked in the hospital in the ER at the time.”
The four-year-old that was in her backseat is now a junior in high school, learning to drive. Flashing lights won’t give Jessop peace of mind.
“I wish they would put spikes on the off-ramp so people couldn’t go on it the wrong way so their vehicle, it would disable it,” she said. “It’s a busy city. It’s busier than it ever has been and it’s just gotten worse, especially for our new drivers.”
Lanes were reopened at 6 a.m.
This February, the Utah Transportation Commission dedicated $2.5 million to install wrong-way driver detection and notification systems across the state.
If a driver enters in an incorrect direction, three “wrong way” signs will flash with red lights, trying to get the driver’s attention. Immediately, the Utah Department of Transportation’s Traffic Operations Center will be notified, as well as law enforcement.
Last fall, the pilot program in Farmington successfully alerted 23 wrong-way driver to turn around.
“If you’re paying attention to the signs, if you’re paying attention to the road, you should be able to recognize your mistake right away,” said John Gleason with UDOT.
He said as of now, fifteen systems are installed so far and another eight are in the works.
In 2022, there were eight wrong-way crashes with ten deaths. This year, there are ten more crashes and six fatalities.
“This isn’t a fool-proof method. It’s not going to stop every single wrong-way driving incident because sometimes you have impairment and sometimes people are just not paying attention,” said Gleason.
The identities of the individuals involved in the crash as well as why the original driver was traveling in the opposite lanes of traffic to begin with were not made available.
