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GREEN RIVER — Three people have died in two separate crashes on I-70 near Green River in the past two days, Utah Highway Patrol officials confirmed Monday.
Starla J. Leal, 38, of Huntington, California, died on scene Sunday in a rollover crash about 4 miles west of Green River, and Trever J. Manning, 29, of Huntington, California, died of his injuries from the same crash at an area hospital. Both were ejected from the vehicle while it rolled. Neither Leal nor Manning was wearing a seat belt, troopers said.
The second crash occurred Monday at 1:10 p.m. about 8 miles east of Green River on I-70 and killed 83-year-old Douglas R. Hughes, of Fountain Valley, California, UHP officials stated.
In the first crash, about 3:55 p.m. on Sunday, a white 2003 Ford Excursion was westbound on I-70 when it left the lane and briefly drove on the median’s westbound shoulder, troopers said in a news release.
The vehicle steered back and went across both westbound lanes, officials said, then overturned at least once before resting upright facing south.
Both people in the Excursion were ejected from the vehicle while it rolled. Neither Leal nor Manning was wearing a seat belt, troopers said.
In Monday's crash, a 1999 blue Lincoln Town Car was eastbound on I-70 in the second lane, according to UHP.
Similar to the first crash, the car left its lane, then steered back across both eastbound lanes before going off the north side of the paved surface, into the median, where it rolled.
The car came to a final rest on its roof, which caused the roof to collapse in on Hughes, pinning him. Hughes, the driver and sole occupant, was wearing a seatbelt, troopers said.
Officials cut Hughes free and once outside the vehicle, CPR was performed on him. About 30 minutes after the accident, he was pronounced dead.
Editor's note: An earlier version confused the location of the first crash. It has since been corrected to clarify it occurred 4 miles west of Green River, and the second crash occurred 8 miles east of Green River.
