One Dead, One Injured After Motorcycle Crash That Shut Down I-15 For Five Hours
Jun 16, 2021, 5:54 AM | Updated: 1:59 pm
SANDY, Utah — A woman is dead after authorities said she was thrown from a motorcycle and struck by two semi-trucks near the 9000 South exit on northbound Interstate 15.
Officials with the Utah Highway Patrol said the crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
All northbound I-15 lanes were closed while investigators were on scene, and troopers reopened the freeway before 8 a.m.
Update: I-15 NB reopen now! Residual delays of about 25 minutes . Plan ahead
— HALEY SMITH (@haleysmithKSL) June 16, 2021
Authorities said the motorcycle began to fishtail and the male driver and female passenger were ejected from the bike.
Troopers said one semi-truck driver saw the driver and swerved to miss him.
“At some point in time witnesses said they could see him crawling to get to the edge of the freeway,” said Lt. Wade Breur with the Utah Highway Patrol.
However, troopers said the female passenger remained in the roadway and was struck by two semi-trucks.
“The passenger was subsequently struck by two semis. We don’t know who first. That’s something we may not ever know,” said Lt. Wade Breur with Utah Highway Patrol.
She was pronounced dead on scene and the motorcycle driver was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Traffic quickly backed up past the 10600 South exit by 6:30 a.m. and delays stretched to the 12300 South exit during the morning commute.
Investigators have ruled out excessive speeding, saying they were leaning more toward a mechanical issue with the motorcycle.
“Anytime you ever get on that motorcycle there is a huge process prior to that which means you look it over to make sure it’s mechanically sound,” Breur said.
Breur said troopers hope to get a better understanding of what happened once they get more answers from the driver of the motorcycle and take a closer look at camera footage from one of the semi-trucks.
