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Gene Kennedy reporting Hours after an overnight grass fire in Farmington, a construction crew discovered a mangled car and a body a few feet from the vehicle.
The discovery was made near the Park Lane on-ramp that leads to southbound I-15.
Overnight, a car hit the concrete barrier on the side of the freeway, overturned and slid down an embankment. The Utah Highway Patrol says the impact ejected the driver.
Around that time, 2:30 this morning, there was a small grass fire. The fire was about 150 feet from the mangled car. Fire fighters put the fire out, but no one noticed the wrecked vehicle or the adult male body lying in the dirt.
It wasn't until 7:30 this morning that construction crews found the body. The crews are working on the commuter rail in this area and noticed the body when they arrived at the work site.
Investigators have identified the body as 19-year-old Craig Stanford of Ogden. UHP has determined the crash did cause the fire.
UHP says the car rode on top of the concrete barrier for about 150 feet before slamming into a column. That is pretty unusual, according to investigators.
Lt. Ed Michaud, Utah Highway Patrol: "The jersey barriers are constructed and engineered in a way to cause the vehicle to turn onto the roadway, to keep it from going over. That is why they are positioned to separate northbound and southbound traffic on the interstate."
But if a car is going fast enough, it can go over the barrier.
Investigators think speed played a role in this crash and they're certain the driver was not wearing his seat belt.
