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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
MURRAY — The Utah Highway Patrol has released the name of the 17-year-old girl who died when her speeding car hit a wall and rolled multiple times on I-215.
She is identified as Taylor M. Have from Taylorsville.
Troopers said she was on her way home from work Monday night when she lost control of her westbound car on I-215 near 1400 West just after midnight.
"She was young. I don't know if she was late getting home, curfew or something like that because it did happen about midnight," said Sgt. Donavan Lucas of the UHP.
Sgt. Lucas said three witnesses told investigators they saw the girl pass them. When they caught up to her, the accident had already happened. UHP said the car went off the north shoulder, hit the sound wall and then began to roll.
"The impact was quite severe," Sgt. Lucas said. "The vehicle rolled, we believe three times, and the driver was ejected from the vehicle."
UHP does not believe alcohol or drugs were a factor in this crash, just speed and possibly not wearing a seatbelt.
The impact was quite severe. The vehicle rolled, we believe three times, and the driver was ejected.
–Sgt. Donavan Lucas
"The vehicle was a convertible, soft top, so that could be a factor too. With the impact that was there, it was severe enough that the vehicle's front end is gone," Lucas said.
This is a scene troopers see far too often as weather warms up, Lucas said. He warned drivers to stay within the speed limits.
"I realize that the snow is not here anymore and in the summertime this is really what we end up getting, fatals due to speed," he said.
UHP is asking commuters to slow down and wear their seat belts properly.
"A lot of people put it behind their back. That's not proper, or even underneath their arm pit; that's not proper. Your shoulder muscle is one of the strongest muscles. It's better than the rib, lungs and things like that, which could be impacted by it," Lucas said.
UHP's Click It or Ticket campaign will start in a couple of weeks. That means police are on high alert for people not wearing their seat belts or wearing them improperly and will ticket them.
"You will be cited for that type of violation even if you did have a seat belt on and it's behind your back," Lucas said.
