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THISTLE, Utah County — A driver who police say caused a head-on crash in Spanish Fork Canyon on Sunday, which left another driver in critical condition and forced police to shut down both directions of traffic for hours, has been arrested.
Kobe Jake Arceneaux, 23, of Abbeville, Louisiana, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious injury, obstruction of justice, DUI, failing to stay in his lane, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
About 5:40 p.m. Sunday, a Chevy Silverado went into oncoming traffic on U.S. 6, east of Thistle, and struck a Mazda head-on, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. An off-duty officer was one of the first to arrive on scene to help the driver of the Mazda, who had to be extricated from the vehicle and was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in critical condition. An updated condition was not immediately available on Monday.
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Head-on collision critically injures driver, causes major delays on US 6
A head-on collision on U.S. 6 east of Thistle has sent one person to the hospital with critical injuries and closed the road in both directions Sunday evening, causing delays.When troopers arrived on scene, they were told by witnesses that after Arceneaux got out of his truck, he was seen throwing "something over the concrete barrier into the bushes," a police booking affidavit states. One witness saw Arceneaux "go from the passenger side of the truck to the concrete barrier multiple times and throw stuff in the sagebrush directly on the other side of the wall."
A Utah County sheriff's deputy who responded to the crash detected the odor of marijuana in the truck "and found a THC vape as well as two open and empty medical containers that had the odor of raw marijuana coming from them," according to the affidavit.
Arceneaux allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana in New Mexico that morning before driving. A trooper also found discarded marijuana that was tossed in the sagebrush, the affidavit states.
After Arceneaux was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries, he was arrested for investigation of DUI.
At one point, the closure of U.S. 6 resulted in traffic being backed up 5 miles in both directions at Red Narrows on Sunday evening.
