Woman, 15-year-old identified in fatal SR-73 collision


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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — A 15-year-old girl was killed and a 28-year-old woman later died from injuries sustained in a head-on collision Thursday afternoon.

The accident occurred on state Route 73 near Eagle Mountain around 1:30 p.m., according to Utah County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Spencer Cannon. Jennifer Ashley Taft Bailey, 28, was driving a Ford Fusion eastbound when she drifted into oncoming traffic and hit a westbound Chevrolet Cruze, Cannon said.

A father was driving the car with three of his children as passengers. The front passenger, 15-year-old Katherine Joyce Hancock, was killed upon impact, Cannon said. Hancock's 17-year-old and 10-year-old brothers were also in the car with her.

"It was a very violent crash," he said. "The cars are almost completely destroyed."

Bailey was air lifted to Utah Valley Medical Regional Center in critical condition where she later died from injuries sustained in the accident. Hancock and another passenger were both trapped in the vehicle and had to be extricated by emergency responders, Cannon said.

The father and two sons were taken to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. Their injuries were serious, but not life-threatening.

"It's frustrating to see these things," he added. "Most accidents or crashes that you see are preventable on the part of one or the other or both. We don't know exactly what happened here."

Investigators discovered an open bottle of whiskey in the eastbound car, Cannon said.

"In the eastbound car, there is some evidence of alcohol," he said. "Whether it was being used currently or not, we don't know. We are investigating that."

Both of the victims were residents of Eagle Mountain.

Contributing: Jed Boal

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