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WILLARD, Box Elder County — An Ogden woman died Saturday after being ejected from her car on I-15.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers say prescription medication is likely the cause of an impairment that led to the accident.
Sara Clow, 29, was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the Brigham City Community Hospital. Troopers said she was not wearing her seat belt when the accident occurred.
About 11:30 p.m. a Chevrolet Silverado was traveling north on I-15 near Willard. Near where I-15 and U.S. 89 connect, witnesses indicated that Clow lost control of the car and the swerved to the left, said UHP Sgt. Jacob Cox. The car traveled from the left lane into the dirt median, where it flipped, he said. It then rolled across the cable barrier, landed on its roof and slid across both of the southbound lanes to then stop in the right emergency lane.
Clow was ejected and came to rest in the left southbound lane. Traffic was blocked to protect her from being hit, according to the UHP. She was then transported to the hospital.
Southbound I-15 lanes were closed for about two hours at exit 357 and traffic was diverted through Willard and U.S. 89.
Cox said speed did not seem to be a major contributor, but there were signs of impairment from prescription medications. He said when there's a warning label on a prescription bottle to use caution when operating heavy equipment or driving, "that might better be interpreted as 'don't drive.'"
Cox issued a reminder to the public to wear their seat belts.
"Statistics show that you're 70 percent less likely to be injured or killed in a crash if you have your seat belt on properly," he said.
He said given the damage to the car, Clow's chances of surviving the crash would have greatly increased had she used a seat belt.
"It's difficult to survive a crash when you're ejected from the vehicle," Cox said.
