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SALT LAKE COUNTY -- Sunday's late winter storm made a mess of the roads. Cold temperatures in the morning caused the previous night's precipitation to freeze up, and that led to lots of wrecks.
Sunday mornings are usually pretty quiet along the Wasatch Front roads, but not on Easter Sunday. The National Weather Service reported that a fast-moving storm system brought widespread precipitation to central and northern Utah early in the day. Sandy and Cottonwood Heights got about four inches of snow.
As Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Hunter said, "From about 5:30 [a.m.] on, it was pretty hectic."
A 12-car pileup on I-15 near 2600 North in Davis County stopped traffic for a while. Icy conditions combined with drivers going too fast for conditions to cause several chain reaction crashes. A few people were transported with minor injuries.
Troopers say they saw most of the accidents on the west side, especially along the I-215 belt. One spot was so prone to accidents, troopers decided to divert traffic and call in more help.
"We did end up calling out eight troopers to assist us," Hunter said.
In another accident, a woman lost control of her vehicle on eastbound I-80 and North Temple. Her car rolled twice and landed on its top. She was ejected from her car and fractured her hip and spine.
The roads were dangerous for troopers as well.
"It was slick. You had to take baby steps or else you'd fall down yourself," Sgt. Hunter said.
Two troopers were involved in collisions while they were helping at other accidents.
Troopers want to make sure drivers are cautious, especially with more storms on the way. Another cold Pacific storm system is expected to move into Utah late Monday.
Sgt. Hunter said, "If you know a storm has come in, just be extra cautious. Especially going over any what we call fly-over ramps or any type of structures because, again, those are the first areas to freeze."
UHP is reporting 64 crashes in Salt Lake County Sunday, including nine injury accidents. Davis County had 13 and Tooele had four.
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Compiled with contributions from Nicole Gonzales and the Associated Press
