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SALT LAKE COUNTY — Troopers said a driver and three passengers survived a crash on I-215 Friday, though their sedan slammed into a wall and rolled multiple times.
The accident, which was captured by another driver’s dash camera, happened just after noon near 5000 South in the southbound lanes of the west belt.
Utah Highway Patrol trooper Jared Cornia said the driver suffered the most serious injuries, but all four of the car’s occupants were expected to recover.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation, Cornia said.
“His tire blew or something,” said Jeffrey Smith, whose dashcam recorded the accident. “The next thing you know, that car just runs off to the right, ‘Boom’ and I’m like, ‘Whoa, that’s something you don’t see every day!'”
Smith said he pulled over immediately to call for help.
“A couple of other cars pulled off,” he recalled. “(One driver) came over to me and I told him, ‘I’m on the phone with 911. Check on him. I can’t get out of the car. I just had knee replacement. I ain’t going to be much help!’”
Smith said he was happy to learn that the occupants of the car were expected to recover.
You never know what’s going to happen. Just like that, man, just like that—it can happen in a heartbeat.
–Jeffrey Smith
Cornia said everyone had been wearing seatbelts.
“Luckily nobody got killed in that,” Smith said. “(You’ve) got to wear your seatbelt!”
Smith said he had hoped his dash camera would be able to capture what happened if he ever got in an accident himself, and wasn’t expecting what happened Friday.
“This is the first one I’ve seen that close with a video camera,” he said.
Smith said he hoped the vantage of the crash might help identify ultimately what went wrong with the car, and also hoped it might encourage others to buckle up and be prepared for anything.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Smith said. “Just like that, man, just like that — it can happen in a heartbeat.”
