Ogden man dies in wrong-way crash on I-15


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OGDEN — Alcohol and drugs were found inside a wrong-way vehicle on I-15 late Tuesday that caused a fatal crash, Utah Highway Patrol troopers said.

About 11:15 p.m., 911 dispatchers received calls from other motorists reporting that a silver Dodge Neon was going south in the northbound lanes of I-15 near Ogden.

Three minutes after receiving their first call, dispatchers were told of a crash near the 21st Street exit. The Neon had crashed into a Ford F-150 truck, said Department of Public Safety spokesman Dwayne Baird.

The impact from the collision knocked the truck over and caused it to roll onto the off-ramp. All five people in the pickup were wearing seat belts and received minor injuries, he said.

The driver of the car, Manuel J. Hernandez, 25, of Ogden, was extricated from the vehicle and flown by medical helicopter to Ogden Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

The accident marked at least the fourth fatal crash involving a wrong-way driver on Utah's freeways this year.

March: I-215 wrong-way crash

In March, Michael "Mikey" McMillian, 27, died days after being struck head-on by another car on I-215 near 1700 East. It took emergency crews between 30 and 45 minutes to cut McMillian out of his mangled vehicle. Investigators say Chanel S. Nielsen, 22, drove in the wrong direction on I-15 and I-215 for five to six miles before crashing.

Baird said the Utah Highway Patrol has finished its investigation into the crash and turned it over to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The DABC typically receives UHP cases to determine whether a drinking establishment holds any liability in contributing to a driver's condition at the time of a crash. Baird declined to say which drinking establishment was being looked at until the investigation is completed.

April: SR 201 wrong-way crash

Less than a month after that crash, Jennifer Lynn Taylor, 35, of Stansbury Park, was killed in a head-on collision after investigators say she drove the wrong-way on state Route 201.

UHP investigators said Taylor was driving 90 to 100 mph in a Ford Focus when she crashed head-on with a Subaru Legacy near 10000 West. The Focus rolled multiple times. The drive of the Subaru suffered only minor injuries.

Alcohol and prescription drugs were possible factors in the incident based on evidence found at the scene, the UHP reported.

July: 1-15 wrong-way crash

On July 8, two people in a Honda Civic, Larry J. Martin, 25, of West Jordan, and back seat passenger Kaela Hernandez, 27, of American Fork, were killed instantly when their vehicle was hit head-on by a Jeep Cherokee traveling the wrong-way on I-15 near Kanosh, Millard County.

The driver of the Jeep, Jessie N. Wilkerson, 18, of St. George, also later died from her injuries. UHP investigators were looking at whether Wilkerson was impaired at the time of the accident.

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