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WEST VALLEY CITY — One person died and another person was critically injured after a semitruck and a small SUV collided at the intersection of 3500 South and Mountain View Corridor Monday morning, police said.
Emergency crews responded to a report of a crash at the intersection of the two roadways at about 8:50 a.m., according to West Valley City Police Lt. Julie Jorgensen. She said that a semitruck carrying a tanker filled with diesel fuel was traveling south on Mountain View Corridor and collided with a small SUV turning from northbound Mountain View Corridor onto westbound 3500 South. The impact caused the semitruck to roll on its side.
"(The truck) struck a Jersey barrier and then rolled," she said.
FATAL CRASH: a semi traveling SB on Mt. View and a small SUV traveling WB collided. Semi rolled spilling a significant amount of diesel fuel. Driver of semi, an adult male, is deceased. Driver of SUV suffered life threatening injuries, transported in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/ZbFKdci9gc
— WVC Police (@WVCPD) January 16, 2023
The driver of the semitruck died at the scene of the crash, while the driver of the SUV was transported to Intermountain Medical Center with "life-threatening injuries," police tweeted. Jorgensen said the driver was rushed into surgery and remained in critical condition, as of late Monday morning.
The names and ages of the drivers were not immediately released.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Investigators were still in the process of determining which driver had the right of way as of late Monday morning, Jorgensen said. She added that another vehicle was struck by debris from the two vehicles, though no additional injuries were reported.
The crash also resulted in "a significant amount of diesel fuel" spilling at the intersection, prompting a hazardous materials cleanup that may take "several hours" to clean up, police tweeted. Jorgensen said that one team is working to prevent the fuel from leaking into storm drains near the crash, while officers also investigate the crash scene.
After closures earlier in the day, the West Valley City Police Department on Monday night tweeted that they expect 3500 South, eastbound and westbound lanes, along with the southbound lanes of Mountain View Corridor, to reopen by 8:00 p.m. following the fatal accident and cleanup of the diesel fuel spill.
They also announced that the driver of the involved SUV remains in critical condition.
