Weather a factor in 2 fatal accidents Monday, UHP says


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SALT LAKE CITY — Two people are dead after separate car accidents Monday morning.

Salt Lake police responded around 4:30 a.m. to a crash near 700 South and 500 West. A car heading west on 700 South hit a trailer that was parked perpendicular to a building at a loading dock in an industrial area, according to Salt Lake Police Lt. Lance VanDongen.

Police believe the man was killed on impact, but the car traveled another block before it stopped. The man was the only person in the car.

A passerby discovered the accident and called police. The accident likely occurred a long time before officers arrived, VanDongen said, because the car's engine was cold by the time police got there.

Police identified the man Monday afternoon as Salt Lake resident Milton Hooper, 51.

The accident is still under investigation, but police believe speed and weather may have played a role. When roads are wet, "driving at or below the speed limit is advised," VanDongen said.

Another accident happened just before 4 a.m. Orem resident Lisa Stoddard, 45, was driving north on I-215 in a 2005 Mazda SUV when it spun near 800 South and hit road barriers, according to a statement by Utah Department of Public Safety spokesman Joe Dougherty. Shortly afterward, a man in a Mitsubishi Galant spun out in the same area, hitting the Mazda.

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Stoddard was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, but her condition deteriorated and she died at the hospital, Dougherty said. The man driving the Galant was not injured.

Roads were wet at the time of the accident, according to UHP.

A third fatality occurred late Sunday night when a man crossing at Redwood Road and 400 North was hit and killed by an SUV.

There were between 10 and 12 accidents on Salt Lake County freeways before 7 a.m. Monday, according to Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce. After that, accidents picked up and there were between 20 and 25 crashes from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. At the time of the crashes, snow and rain were falling, and a light slush had accumulated on some roads.

Contributing: Nkoyo Iyamba


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