Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CEDAR CITY - A fatal accident involving several vehicles shut down part of Interstate 15 near Cedar City Wednesday. It happened around 12:30 p.m., forcing crews to close the freeway for five hours.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, an accident near milepost 35, which is just north of Pintura, Utah, caused a backup in the southbound lanes. The driver of a semi truck could not stop, and ended up causing an accident with five other vehicles.
A Kia Spectra was able to come to a stop behind the semi, but a second semi driver was unable to stop. The truck hit the Kia, pinning it underneath the first semi truck.
The driver of the Kia, 25-year-old Kristen Kay Taylor of Salt Lake County, died on the scene. Her passenger, who has not been identified, sustained critical injuries and was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center.
Three people involved in the accident that caused the initial backup were also transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
A witness says there was poor visibility in the area at the time of the accidents because of heavy snow. In all, there were at least 15 cars involved.
All southbound traffic was forced to exit in Cedar City for several hours. The interstate was reopened around 5:30 p.m.
---
