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WEST JORDAN — Six people were transported to a hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries after a four-vehicle car crash that started with a wrong-way driver on Bangerter Highway Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Emergency crews responded to a report of a wrong-way crash on the highway near 6300 South about 4 p.m., said West Jordan Police Sgt. J.C. Holt.
The chain of events began when an elderly man turned to go north on 7000 South but started driving in the southbound lanes, West Jordan Police Sgt. J.C. Holt. Some vehicles traveling southbound were able to avoid the car, but he sideswiped with a West Valley police squad car driven by an officer who was coming home from a training.
The wrong-way vehicle then collided head-on with minivan, which dislodged the engine block in the man's vehicle. A fourth car then collided with the engine block, Holt said.
"It was kind of a mess," he added.
Holt said six people were transported to a hospital with injuries ranging in severity. However, none of the injuries were initially believed to be life-threatening. The officer suffered minor injuries and was not transported, he added.
The crash closed southbound Bangerter Highway from 6200 South to 7000 South in West Jordan for a couple of hours. However, officials said it reopened shortly after 6 p.m.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, but Holt said investigators believe the man driving in the wrong direction may have had a medical episode before the crash.
