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Update: The woman killed on I-215 Friday was identified by the Utah Highway Patrol on Sunday as 31-year-old Veronica Tapia of West Valley City.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Highway Patrol said a woman died after she was struck by multiple vehicles on the westside belt of I-215 at 3800 South Friday morning.
Woman walking on the freeway
Highway Patrol officials said they first started getting reports around 12:30 a.m. that someone walking on the freeway was hit by multiple vehicles. Upon arrival, they found an individual dead at the scene.
Officials said at this time it’s still unclear why the woman was walking on the freeway.
“That’s still under investigation,” explained UHP trooper Chris Bishop. “That’s why we’re treating it as a crime scene. Based on the circumstances of her being on the freeway and trying to figure out who she is and where she came from.”
He said northbound lanes at 4700 South were shutdown for multiple hours due to the accident. A couple of lanes were able to reopen at around 5:30 a.m.
Troopers say a woman on the highway was struck by multiple vehicles. Still unclear why she was on the road and because of that, the area is currently being treated as a crime scene. https://t.co/ltKXFiHNDT
— John Wojcik (@JWojcikKSL) September 25, 2020
A call from the scene
According to officials, all of the drivers involved in the accident have been cooperating with investigators.
“I believe it was one of the drivers who struck the individual that called into dispatch, not knowing what had happened,” explained Bishop. “Then multiple calls came in following that initial call.”
The investigation is currently being handled by a couple of different agencies.
“We have our major crash investigation team on scene, as well as our investigators with the state bureau of investigation,” he explained. "(They are) trying to piece together what happened and getting a timeline of why this female was on the freeway and trying to figure out what brought her to the freeway.”