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Team Coverage Slide-offs, rollovers, cars rear-ended. From the freeway to the side streets, slick conditions make commutes dicey. Wind mixed with snow made a mess out of the afternoon commute.
Dozens of accidents dotted the Wasatch Front, prompting a familiar warning from state troopers.
Trooper Mike Rapich, Utah Highway Patrol: "When the roads are wet, when they're snow covered, when they're slushy, you gotta slow down."
This evening's warning follows a very busy day for the Utah Highway Patrol. By noon, state troopers had already responded to at least 75 crashes, including a fatal crash on Interstate 80.
UHP says a woman driving a truck lost control and rolled in the median. It landed on its top. A woman and her two children were trapped inside. She was taken to the hospital with one of the boys. The other, 4- year old Zachary Tippetts, of Grantsville, died at the scene. Troopers say no one was in a seat belt or car seat.
From Willard Bay north into Box Elder County, troopers counted at least six semis and another 40 to 45 passenger cars involved in slide-offs or weather-caused collisions.
Northbound I-15 was closed at 2700 north in Weber County for a time. Blowing snow and icy conditions are making driving very dangerous.
Farther south, in Davis County wasn't any better. Another 40-45 cars crashed on a stretch of I-15 from Bountiful to Centerville, eight of them were big rigs.
Earlier this afternoon, I-15 northbound in Centerville resembled the end of a demolition derby. We're told about 45 cars were involved in accidents, most of them in pileups. I-15 northbound had to be closed from Parish Lane through Farmington. It took drivers at least an hour or more to get from downtown Salt Lake to the Farmington area.
Kimberly Gordon, Woods Cross Resident: "I just barely tapped my brakes, and my car was sliding out of control."
Her minivan was number 19, joining 10, 18, 21 and 13 in the same area on I-15 Northbound in Centerville.
Carl Shupe, Huntsville Resident: "I hit my brakes, just tapped on them, and it was so slick, my tires immediately locked up."
Joanna Batzer, Layton Resident: "One car hit me in the front, and I really got slammed by this minivan in the truck, and then pushed me off the road."
Justin Hansen, Utah Highway Patrol: "This is probably the worst one I've had in 5 years."
Slide-offs on the southbound side also became a traffic nightmare.
State troopers blame speed and terrible conditions.
Justin Hansen, UHP: "Visibility was low. The snow came in quick and the roads froze extremely quick. That's caused the crashes. Cars began to slow down, a semi slowed and got hit from behind the trailer, and it just all dominoed from there."
But finally, 3 hours later, the crashes were cleared and snow plows were able to do their job, allowing traffic to finally move on.
The highway patrol told us in Salt Lake County alone there have been around 80 cars damaged today and nine people injured, along with six slide-offs.
Snow falling during the morning commute, after seeing a week of quiet weather, made for tricky traveling today.
Courtney Merrill, Driver: "I was driving down this steep, icy road. Well, I guess it's not icy, slushy road, and there was a car in the middle of the road, I swerved to get around him and swerved to get around a parked car and slammed into a KSL news van."
Jeff Moskallik, Highway Patrol Officer: "With the weather conditions the way they are, traffic needs to start slowing down a bit more. We've got several rear ending accidents with the snow conditions the way they are, the roads are icing up."
The photographer in the KSL van that Courtney went into is just fine, but a lot of the accidents today were rear enders from not having enough room to press the brake safely.
Around the Capitol Hill area this morning, even SUV's were having a hard time getting up Zane Avenue, a really steep street.
Madalyn Woolstenhulme, Driver: "I came up afterwards and headed up the hill and spun on the side and slid down. You can't even walk out there, it's really bad."
Travis Robinett, Driver: "It's not good, started sliding, didn't stop, it's where I ended up. I tried to take out as much as I can on the way down."
Carl Shupe, Huntsville Resident: "All I can say is I'm very fortunate."
With all those car crashes, there were no serious injuries.
The Highway patrol reports: 206 accidents in Salt Lake County 100 in Davis County 60 in Weber and Morgan Counties. and 100 in Box Elder County.
