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ST. GEORGE -- Police in St. George continue to investigate a crash involving a Utah Highway Patrol trooper. Two elderly sisters were killed.
Witnesses say the trooper was speeding on a 40-mile-an-hour road, but exactly how fast he was going is still under investigation.
The trooper was on his way to help with a car crash south of Cedar City Wednesday afternoon. He was driving on River Road in St. George when a car turned in front of him. Two women in that car, 71-year-old Karen Gummow and her 75-year-old sister Ila Jean Moore, died.
Local police and the Utah Highway Patrol are investigating the incident..
They are looking at the trooper's dash camera video, which is required to be recording when an officer is responding with lights and sirens. The UHP says there is no set speed limit for troopers responding to injury crashes, but public safety is at top of mind.
Trooper Cameron Roden said, "We have to make sure we clear intersections properly and make sure that we go through them carefully to make sure that we don't have anything that could be [out of] our control happen."
The trooper was responding to a multi-car accident outside of Cedar City when he collided with the Buick. Twenty cars were involved in the earlier crash, and 25-year-old Kristen Taylor of Salt Lake County was killed. Her fiancé was taken to the hospital and may lose his arm.
The Highway Patrol says the trooper, who was on his way to this crash site, had to take a lot into consideration. They say because of the number of injuries and road blocks, it was still considered a hazardous situation to the public.
The trooper involved in the crash has been with Highway Patrol for three years. Once the investigation is complete, St. George Police will ultimately determine if he will be cited or charged.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
