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TOOELE COUNTY -- A Tooele man died Tuesday after losing control of his vehicle on state Road 36.
As Utah Highway Patrol troopers investigated how the man's vehicle ended up nearly 100 yards from road, they said it appears that the 53-year-old driver may have crashed because of a medical condition.
"There's no indication to why he would have crashed," said UHP Sgt. Nathan Croft. "The tires, at this point, appear to be still in good condition; and normally with excessive speed, you drift off and overcorrect it."
Right now, all troopers know is that the vehicle was traveling south on SR 36 around 9 a.m. when it crossed over into oncoming traffic at a high rate of speed.
"He drifted off to the right side, close to the barrier, came back on across all lanes of travel and then drove off the east side of the road here," Croft explained.
Witnesses watched as the vehicle drove up onto the dirt shoulder. It then dropped down onto Village Boulevard before continuing up another dirt hill where it came to a stop in front of Staker Rock Products. When emergency crews arrived to assist the driver, he was unresponsive.
"[The] ambulance crews arrived quickly, and they worked on him extensively--doing the different type of regiments that they do with the drugs and CPR--but they were unable to revive him," Croft said.
Troopers said it's unclear if the driver died from a medical condition or if he died from the injuries sustained in the crash. They won't know the answer to that question until a medical examiner does an autopsy.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
