Concerns raised after dashcam video shows car crash into three others
Oct 9, 2023, 6:12 PM | Updated: 10:45 pm
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — New concerns tonight for driver safety on a dangerous road in Utah County as new dashcam video shows the moment a 17-year-old driver drifted over the center lane and crashed into three cars.
It happened on state Route 73 in Eagle Mountain near the intersection with Mount Airey Drive. People in that area said it’s a hotspot for dangerous crashes as Eagle Mountain is a growing community.
SR-73 is used by thousands of drivers every day. Mini vans full of children, trucks hauling goods, and Utahns on the go use this road frequently.
However, many people say they’re seeing more crashes on SR-73 or Cory B. Wride Memorial Highway. Those crashes include one back in June when two people were killed as a result of a road rage crash.
According to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, that was one of the more than 100 crashes in this stretch, in the last year.
“There’s been about 115 crashes on that highway,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon. “Just on Highway 73 between Eagle Mountain Boulevard and the boundary with Saratoga Springs.”
A multi-car collision caught on camera Saturday has some residents fed up.
“In this video, it’s very, very clear what happened,” Cannon said. “There was a car that drifted westbound, drifted over the center median, hit a car, spun around a second car behind it, and then went into the third car that had the dash cam video.”
Three people suffered serious injuries in the crash and had to be taken to the hospital. Cannon said they’re expected to survive.
He says they don’t know what caused a 17-year-old driver to drift out of his lane. He also says they feel fortunate with the outcome of the crash.
“It wasn’t an absolute direct head on, it was a little bit offset, headlight to headlight more than dead center,” Cannon said. “If it had been more dead center, than we probably would be having a different discussion now.”
One of the victims is Melissa Neville’s mother, who was in one of the cars that the 17-year-old crashed into.
“I’m amazed she’s alive. I really am,” said Neville. “He hit one car before he hit her.”
Neville said her mother suffered multiple broken bones and a dislocated heel.
“She completely crushed her right foot, ankle… her bone in her heel was completely dislocated, her knee is messed up,” she said.
People who live there said they know what would prevent this.
“Those things do come up whether it’s a raised median, or a jersey barrier style structure like you see on the freeways,” Cannon said. “Those are not very common on secondary roads like that one, but it’s certainly something that could be considered.”
Cannon says the Sheriff’s Office talks regularly with other agencies, like UDOT, to brainstorm adjustments.
“They have made some speed limit adjustments, they have installed several traffic lights at several intersections there that have been problematic,” he said.
He says they’re open to adding a barrier on this road.
“People are very concerned about it and they’re rightly so,” Cannon said. “We share their concern as well because the vast majority of these crashes are completely preventable.”
He also encourages people to simply watch where they’re going.
“When you see those things, they’re major and they get a lot of attention, and they should,” Cannon said.
Read more:
