Family of five injured after high-speed crash on Salt Flats
Sep 5, 2022, 8:29 AM | Updated: 7:44 pm
TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — Five members of a Utah County family were hospitalized after police say they crashed into an earthen berm on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Officials with the Wendover Police Department said the family was in a 2022 Tesla and traveling over 100 mph when it crashed into the berm “with very little braking” at approximately 8:38 p.m. Sunday.
The crash happened about 10 miles northeast of Wendover, near the Utah-Nevada border.
“Due to the low-lighting conditions, the driver was not able to see a road hazard of an embankment approaching and was not able to successfully slow down,” said Sgt. Cameron Roden with the Utah Highway Patrol.
The family, from Saratoga Springs, included a man and woman, both 44 years old, and three girls ages 17, 15 and 12, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
“All five of the occupants did sustain some degree of injuries”
Tesla crashes into embankment at Salt Flats. Saratoga Springs family, including three daughters ages 17, 15, and 12, went to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
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— Ladd Egan (@laddegan) September 5, 2022
“All five of the occupants did sustain some degree of injury,” Roden said. “Gratefully, none of them are life-threatening.”
Officers credited seat belts and airbags for reducing the family’s injuries.
“Surface conditions of the Salt Flats is definitely going to be a lot different than driving on the roadway,” Roden said.
Roden said it’s lucky that the vehicle didn’t roll when it hit the embankment.
“We’re grateful that nothing was more severe in this crash, but we can directly contribute this crash to high speeds,” Roden said.
The Wendover Police Department, Utah Highway Patrol and Wendover Fire Department responded to the crash.