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HUNTSVILLE, Weber County — Authorities say they don't know why a man was driving erratically around northern Utah before he crashed into Pineview Reservoir Thursday afternoon, resulting in his death.
The man was the only occupant in an SUV that crews pulled from the reservoir after finding it Thursday evening, according to Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Brandon Whitehead.
The chain of events began when different police agencies received "several calls" about a reckless driver traveling through different police jurisdictions in Weber County starting shortly before 4 p.m., Whitehead said. One of those calls was about a hit-and-run crash somewhere in the area.
"There was a cycle of various calls that came in at various points of times and locations regarding this vehicle," he said.
While troopers were searching for the vehicle, witnesses told UHP they saw the vehicle drive into a pullout near state Route 39 and into the reservoir nearly 30 minutes after the initial calls came in.
Whitehead said that Weber County Sheriff's Office divers were dispatched to the scene, where they located the vehicle out of the water and the body after a few hours of searching. The man's name and age were not immediately released, but Whitehead said he was a man.
The crash and the incidents leading up to it remain under investigation.
"It's all going to be part of an ongoing investigation and we don't have enough information to come to a conclusion yet," he said.
A pair of people who witnessed the crash and had gone into the reservoir to try and help the driver of the submerged vehicle needed to be hoisted up as well because of the steep and icy reservoir embankment, Weber Fire District officials added. The agency was one of a few that responded to the crash.
