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WENDOVER — One person was killed and five others injured in a head-on crash Wednesday morning at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Tooele County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Johnson said the crash was between two vehicles, a 1987 Ford pickup and a 2017 Toyota Sienna, filled with spectators and did not involve any vehicles participating in Speed Week, currently going on at the raceway.
The pickup contained four people — a 73-year-old male driver and three male passengers, ages 77, 48 and 65, Johnson said. The 65-year-old man was killed. Names and hometowns of the men were not immediately available.
In the minivan were a 74-year-old man, who was driving, and 75-year-old woman, Johnson said.
Just before 9 a.m., the vehicles were traveling in opposite directions in the return lane used by racers who have just completed their event and are returning to the start area, Johnson said.
For an unknown reason, the truck veered into the path of the minivan and they hit head-on, he said.
Three people were flown by medical helicopter in critical condition, and two were taken to local hospitals by ambulance.
The Utah Highway Patrol was helping to reconstruct the crash Wednesday afternoon to determine how fast the vehicles were going. Johnson did not know if the vehicles were supposed to be in the return lane.
Speed Week features more than 400 vehicles and drivers from all over the world. Participating vehicles have been known to reach 400 mph on the open Salt Flats.
