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Two people are dead and one hurt in a bad accident in Tooele County. Now, investigators are looking at the possibility that alcohol was involved. The Utah Highway Patrol says a Tooele volunteer firefighter drifted into oncoming traffic and that alcohol is suspected.
The head-on collision happened on State Road 112, outside of Tooele at mile marker 3. The UHP says the driver, 54-year-old Michael Haydon from Grantsville, and the passenger, 83-year-old Alan Carlson from Lake Point, died following a crash that happened just before 11 a.m.
Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Andrew Prescott said, "From what we are being told from witnesses, the pickup truck had been drifting across the center line and, as it approached the other vehicles traveling towards Grantsville, it had drifted across."
Witnesses say the driver of the red car tried to avoid the pickup, but the car's brakes locked up, and they hit head-on.
Icy roads and freezing rain contributed to about six accidents along I-80 today. However investigators say UDOT had already cleared this road and weather wasn't a factor. Prescott said, "The road was just wet at the time of the accident."
Haydon died at the scene. Carlson was rushed to the hospital, where he later died. The driver of the white truck, a volunteer firefighter for Tooele City for about three years, suffered neck and back injuries.
Troopers say alcohol was spilled all over the interior of the truck. How big a part that may have played in the accident is still under investigation. They are not releasing the name of the truck driver at this time.
The highway was closed for about four hours while crews investigated the accident.
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