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MAGNA -- A 48-year-old woman was killed Tuesday when she was hit by a pickup truck driven by a Cyprus High School student celebrating her 17th birthday.
Karen Johnson and a co-worker were on a lunch-break bike ride traveling northbound on Katherine Drive in Magna when the oncoming Dodge pickup veered toward them.
The male co-worker rode off the road to the right to avoid the truck; Johnson swerved to the left at the same time the 17-year-old driver corrected.
"At that moment, the driver realized she had veered to the wrong side and she overcorrected and went back to her side of the roadway," said Lt. Don Hutson with Unified police. "She struck the bicyclist head on."
Johnson died on the way to the hospital. Police say both cyclists were wearing helmets.
A woman who lives in the area, Chris Williams, said, "This red truck behind me came flying up the road and the woman flew up in the air and landed and the only word that came out of my mouth was, ‘Oh my God.'"
Another witness, Dan Christensen, says he's certain speed was a factor. "One of the gentlemen here today said that the kids -- now that they've put up the speed signs, the track your speed signs -- they try to see if they can get the 99 (mph) on the speed sign," he said.
The teen driver was celebrating her birthday with a male passenger. Her windshield was covered with paint and her cab was full of balloons, possibly impairing her view.
"We're not sure exactly why she started to veer over and came to the wrong side of the road," said Hutson. "If visibility is an issue or distraction is an issue -- we're looking into all of that."
Johnson, who lived in Salt Lake City, is being remembered by family and friends as a wonderful woman who worked as an electrical engineer, volunteered with a non-profit agency and loved to bike.
Johnson's family says this was the second time she had been hit by a car. They are urging drivers to pay attention and share the road with cyclists so no one else gets hurt.
Johnson's husband is on his way home from Hong Kong where he was traveling for business.
Charges against the driver are pending.
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Story compiled with contributions from Sarah Dallof, Sandra Yi and Pat Reavy.
