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MOUNTAIN GREEN — An early morning pileup on Interstate 84 near Mountain Green in Morgan County has left at least one person dead and closed the freeway in both directions.
"In the midst of our first winter storm, the roads iced over westbound I-84 at approximately milepost 90," said Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Chris Simmons.
Eastbound I-84 is closed at the mouth of Weber Canyon, and westbound lanes are closed in the Mountain Green area, according to UHP. The roads are expected to reopen by 6:30 p.m.
According to police, it all started when one car spun out and a trooper stopped to help.
"As I was assisting him with that, another car spun out, up back here," said Trooper Eric Prescott, of Utah Highway Patrol. "And then it just kind of created a chain reaction. Another car came in, another car came in, and they just kept piling up on the icy bridge."
A bridge near the area of horseshoe bend iced over and is believed to have contributed to the crash that occurred around 6:30 a.m., according to UHP.
"One semi came into it, lost control and jackknifed, basically closing the whole road down. And then every single vehicle, which includes three additional semis and approximately 15 to 20 vehicles, came in at either freeway or below freeway speeds causing a serious traffic mess," Simmons said.
The one confirmed fatality occurred when a semitrailer driver stepped onto a concrete jersey barrier then slipped and fell 50 feet onto train tracks below. He has been identified as Mithat Nurko, 28, of San Jose, Calif.
One of the semitrailers was transporting Butane gas and and was leaking fuel following the accident. Hazardous materials crews worked to offload the fuel.
Five people were taken to area hospitals in critical condition and another five to 10 were transported in less serious condition, Simmons said.
"We've had multiple extractions of victims in vehicles," Simmons said.
A separate accident occurred around 11 a.m. several miles east of the pileup on westbound I-84 as vehicles were being diverted off the freeway due to the first accident. A pickup truck with hunters from the Kamas Valley was pulling a horse trailer and was stopped as it was being diverted at the Peterson exit. Another another pickup truck slammed into the back of the trailer. There were no horses in the trailer, but it was carrying six dogs, three of which were killed in the accident. The truck was wedged so deeply into the trailer that tow vehicles were unable to dislodge it and the trailer was towed with the truck embedded in the back to Coalville. No people suffered any major injuries.
According to UHP, since midnight Saturday there were 49 accidents resulting in property damage, 11 resulting in personal injury, nine slide-off and 15 motorists needing assistance in Salt Lake and Utah counties alone.
Written byMolly Farmer, with contributions from John Hollenhorst.
