Pregnant woman one of two couples, ATV rider killed in Highway 6 crash
Sep 27, 2024, 12:21 PM | Updated: 6:28 pm
PRICE — The five people killed in a crash on Highway 6 Thursday have now been identified as two couples from Minnesota and a man from Helper who was riding an ATV.
Authorities have now also confirmed that one of the victims was pregnant. The couple had just gotten married in March.
Social media posts from friends said the other couple killed had six kids.
“Nobody yesterday, including me, expected to have to, deal with the amount of tragedy that we did,” Sgt. Chris Pugliese, with the Utah Highway Patrol, said.
According to UHP, the crash happened after an SUV overshot the acceleration lane, clipping a semi and causing it to hit a Nissan Rogue head-on, killing the four people inside. The semi also struck and killed an ATV rider, now identified as 35-year-old Gustavo Mendoza from Helper.
“The best way to say it is absolute wrong place, wrong time. It was random. That path (where Mendoza was riding) is used by bicyclists and ATV riders daily,” Pugliese said.
According to UHP, the couples in the Nissan Rogue were vacationing in Utah and traveling with another car from their church group, who was in front of them at the time of the crash. They managed to avoid being hit. But members of that group told UHP that 25-year-old Mai Lor was expecting.
“(That’s according to) statements from the remainder of the church group that was with them,” Pugliese said.
UHP confirmed the three others in the Nissan Rogue as Sang Her, 56, Lee Thao, 38, and Bee Moua, 26.
Family friends who spoke to KSL TV said Moua and Lor were just married in March. The relationship to Her and Thao is unknown. The couples were said to be part of the Hmong community, an indigenous group in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, the crash occurred on US 6 at milepost 235 and left one lane open for both directions of travel for several hours.
Pugliese said there were two people in the SUV who caused the crash, with a woman driving. They were said to have only suffered minor injuries. The driver of the big rig also had minor injuries.
Pugliese said the crash is still being investigated to determine if there could be any potential charges.
He urged drivers to slow down.
“There’s not a person that was on that scene that thought, you know, I might not make it home today,” Pugliese said. “And that’s, That’s a common thought on our highway. So just get where you’re going safely and give the other people some space.”
This is a breaking story and may be updated.
