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TAYLORSVILLE — A 19-year-old man traveling with his family from Oregon to Utah was killed in a crash on I-215 near Taylorsville Saturday morning, police said.
A family of five from Westfir, Oregon, going to Cottonwood Heights for the holidays, was traveling south on the freeway around 8 a.m., according to the Utah Highway Patrol. Investigators believe the mom fell asleep at the wheel of the 2004 Dodge Durango she was driving, in an area where the interstate changes directions. She overcorrected, causing the Durango to drive off the right side of the road and roll into a cement sound wall, according to UHP officials.
A 19-year-old man who was sitting in the right rear seat was killed when the vehicle struck the wall. The four other occupants of the vehicle, including the mother, father and two other children, were transported to Intermountain Medical Center with minor injuries.
All occupants were wearing seat belts, UHP said; investigators do not believe speed, weather or impairment were factors in the crash.
The deceased was identified as Kaje Patterson of Westfir, Oregon.
The right lanes of westbound I-215 were blocked off near 5100 South throughout the morning, but are now open.
Editor's Note: The Utah Highway Patrol initially released an incorrect spelling of Kaje Patterson's name and it has since been corrected.
