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SANDY — A vehicle hit a 17-year-old boy about 7 p.m. Tuesday while he was trying to retrieve something on I-15, police said.
The boy was attempting to recover what appeared to be a backpack that had fallen from a trailer being pulled by the SUV he was riding in, according to Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Brady Zaugg.
The item had fallen into the far right northbound lane. The crash near the 9000 South exit occurred after other vehicles had swerved to avoid the boy, Zaugg said.
The teen was taken to Intermountain Medical Canter in extremely critical condition. The male driver who hit him was "extremely shaken up" and was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
The boy was with family members and they were beginning a camping trip, Zaugg said. The family had pulled over the SUV before the teen exited the vehicle, and they witnessed him being hit, according to the sergeant.
Zaugg warned motorists to never enter the freeway to retrieve an item.
"If there’s something on the road that you really, really need, give us a call and we’ll be happy to come and … stop traffic so that this doesn’t happen," he said.
The two far right lanes of northbound I-15 remained closed as of about 10 p.m.
