Man hit by car exiting freeway now fighting to live
Apr 25, 2018, 1:44 PM | Updated: 9:08 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A man is fighting for his life after he was hit by a car early Wednesday morning in Salt Lake City. The 600 South exit ramp was closed for a couple of hours during the busy morning commute as police investigated the cause of the crash.
The man was struck right before 5 a.m. near the intersection of 400 West and 600 South. Police believe the man was using the sidewalk, but detectives are looking into whether he was walking when there was a pedestrian signal. They’re also investigating if the driver was speeding or distracted.
Officers say the driver, who says he didn’t see the pedestrian, is cooperating with them. “If you’re a driver, pay attention to driving. Make sure you’re limiting all the distractions you can. And as a pedestrian, it’s always best to use crosswalks and cross with the light,” said Sgt. Brandon Shearer with the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Sgt. Shearer says detectives actually drove the car involved in the crash as part of their investigation. They put telemetry equipment on the dashboard to record the friction of the road and the braking system of the car. He says while there are “Math equations that can help figure out the friction of the road and the tires, but there’s nothing better than being able to use the actual car and measure how the braking system works with the particular roadway.” The telemetry calculations combined with the skid marks on the road help measure the speed of the car.
@SLCPD drove the car involved in the auto-pedestrian for the cause. Details on @kslbrowser50 @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/KnuuzgPHKw
— Derek Petersen (@Derek_Photog) April 25, 2018
The 600 South exit ramp opened sooner than expected, around 7:45 a.m., as a reconstruction crew from Cottonwood Heights also helped with the investigation.
Police say the man who was hit is in hospital in extremely critical condition.
