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SNOWVILLE, Box Elder County — Two Kearns men who were not wearing seat belts, according to troopers, died Monday in a crash on I-84 near the Utah-Idaho border.
A pickup truck with five male occupants was traveling west on I-84 when the driver, James Gates, 29, drifted left into the median about 7:30 a.m., according to the Utah Highway Patrol. Authorities said he then overcorrected to the right prompting the vehicle to veer left a second time, rolling through the median and into the eastbound lanes of oncoming traffic.
The vehicle came to rest blocking both eastbound lanes. Gates was not wearing his seat belt and was ejected, said UHP trooper Lawrence Hopper. Passenger Daymon Smith, 22, was not wearing his seat belt, either, Hopper said. He, too, was ejected. Both Gates and Smith died from their injuries.
Hopper said the other occupants in the vehicle were transported to a local hospital and were expected to survive.