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FILLMORE — Two people were killed and two others were critically injured in a head-on collision on I-15 Wednesday that troopers say was caused by a wrong-way driver.
"Troopers are investigating possible impairment as a factor," the Utah Highway Patrol said in a statement.
About 7:10 a.m., dispatchers started receiving calls of a person recklessly driving a Jeep Cherokee on I-15 near Kanosh, Millard County. Near Fillmore, callers reported that the driver was going north in the southbound lanes at a high speed, UHP Sgt. Todd Royce said.
As troopers and Millard County sheriff's deputies were responding to the area to attempt to stop the driver, they learned of the head-on crash. The wrong-way driver hit a southbound Honda Civic occupied by three people head-on, Royce said.
Two people in the Civic — driver Larry J. Martin, 25, of West Jordan, and back seat passenger Kaela Hernandez, 27, of American Fork — were ejected from the vehicle and were killed instantly, he said. Hernandez had been sleeping and was not wearing a seat belt, according to the UHP.
Joseph C. Martin, 29, of Eagle Mountain, was a front seat passenger in the Civic. He was transported to Fillmore Community Medical Center in critical condition.
The driver of the Cherokee, Jessie N. Wilkerson, 18, of St. George, was pinned in the vehicle and had to be extricated. She was taken to the Fillmore hospital, but was later flown to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in critical condition, Royce said.
Southbound I-15 was shut down near Fillmore for hours while the crash was investigated. Traffic was diverted through the towns of Meadow and Kanosh.
Contributing: Shara Park
