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SANDY — Two Midvale men were killed early Sunday in a fiery crash that police say was caused by driving too fast.
Police say Marc Summerhays, 22, and Mike Derby, 36, were killed instantly about 3:50 a.m. when Summerhays lost control of the MazdaSpeed6 he was driving and crashed into a tree on the south side of Highpoint Parkway. According to Derby's sister, the two had spent the night at a friend's house nearby.
"The car literally was split in two," Sandy Police Sgt. Jon Arnold said. "Debris was thrown several hundred feet. It was a severe impact with the tree."
Arnold said a police officer witnessed the Mazda speeding on 7800 South and turned around to follow it. The officer didn't see it again until after it had crashed into the tree and was engulfed in flames, he said.
The charred remains of the Mazda surrounded the tree in a grassy area near 8000 South while crews investigated the accident Sunday morning.
"We have no indication of (reasons for the crash) other than they were driving too fast," Arnold said.
The state medical examiner will determine whether there were any other contributing factors in the crash, he said.
Investigators weren't sure Sunday how fast the car was traveling, though Arnold estimated its speed on the curved, 30 mph road at "well over 60 mph — and probably significantly higher than that."
Arnold called the scene of the accident "as bad as anything I've seen."
Family members came to the site, where they consoled one another.
"Just wish it wasn't real," said Mike Derby's sister, Sarah Derby. "That's what I'm going through -- just wish it wasn't real."
"You wouldn't want to come across a tree in flames and realize that whoever that happened to was actually your brother."
