No history of major crashes at intersection where 6 died

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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Highway Patrol is still looking into a deadly accident that happened over the weekend.

Six people from one family died at the intersection of SR-201 and SR-202. Now the safety of that intersection is in question. Since 2005, it's been relatively safe with few accidents a year and zero fatalities, until this crash.

UHP trooper Cameron Roden said, "We don't handle crashes that kill this many people, especially from one family."

**Traffic signal Criteria**

Criteria	SR 201/202 intersection
High vehicle and pedestrian volume	Only 700 cars/day, no peak hour delay
School crossing	No pedestrian traffic, no school nearby
History of crashes	Minimal accident history

This intersection does not qualify for traffic signal. -UDOT

A memorial of flowers, well wishes and a flag now sits on the side of the road. It's all for six family members who died in one of the worst crashes this area has seen in some time. According to UHP, the Dodge Stratus driver going south on SR-202 made a left-hand turn onto S.R. 201 and was T-boned by a Mercury Sable.

Everyone in the Stratus died, except for a 4-year-old boy. The father and son in the other car survived.

Now, UHP investigators are trying to re-create the scene.

"So that will take a little bit of time to complete the photogrammetry, figure out the speeds and the locations of everything and where they came from," Roden said.

Detectives are hoping to interview the driver of the Sable today. They're also waiting on his blood results, although he didn't appear to be intoxicated at the scene.

**SR-201/202 Crash Data**

	No-injury crashes	Injury crashes
2005	2	2
2006	0	1
2007	7	3
*2008	3	3

2008 data is preliminary - UDOT*

This accident is the first fatal at the intersection in several years. We uncovered crash statistics for the past four years. In 2005, there were four crashes, none deadly. In 2006 there was only one accident, but that number jumped to 10 in 2007. Last year, UDOT counted six collisions. The intersection doesn't have a traffic signal, and UDOT says it's unlikely to get one. It does not meet a list of federal requirements, including vehicle volume, pedestrian traffic, school crossing or significant crash history, although, this accident certainly was significant.

UHP says it will likely take the investigation findings to the county attorney to see if any charges are necessary.

The grandparents of the 4-year-old are likely going to talk to the media Tuesday.

E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com

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