A car accident on I-15 in Box Elder County claimed the life of a 57-year-old woman from Brigham City and injured a man from Garland, Utah.
Utah Highway Patrol reported that the accident happened at 8:47 p.m.
According to the report, the woman was driving a Buick that entered I-15 near mile marker 376, and entered an emergency turn-through near mile post 377.5. Authorities said that it appears she attempted to turn left from the outside lane across northbound I-15 toward the median turn-through. When her vehicle was across the inside lane, it was hit by a truck.
Authorities identified the driver of the truck as 52-year-old Rondell S. Nielson. The female driver had to be extricated by responders, and both drivers were taken to Bear River Valley Hospital in Tremonton. Nielson sustained injuries in his arm while other woman was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Utah Department of Public Safety stated in a fact sheet that in 2011:
- Senior drivers had the lowest crash rate per licensed driver.
- Senior drivers were in 6,060 motor vehicle crashes which resulted in 2,926 injured persons and 42 deaths.
- Seniors represented 6% of people in a crash and 15% of the deaths.
- Although senior drivers have the lowest crash rates of any drivers, senior drivers are a concern due to declining health and fragility.
- Senior drivers were less likely to have a contributing factor than other drivers in a crash.
- Compared to drivers of all ages, senior drivers were more likely to have a contributing factor of improper turn and disregard traffic signal/sign.
Utah Department of Public Safety identified the leading contributing factors of senior driver crashes compared to all drivers in Utah as of 2011.
All Drivers in Crashes
- Followed Too Closely (23%)
- Failed to Yield Right of Way (18%)
- Failed to Keep in Proper Lane (13%)
- Speeding (12%)
- Driver Distraction (9%)
Senior Driver Crashes
- Failed to Yield Right of Way (17%)
- Followed Too Closely (9%)
- Failed to Keep in Proper Lane (7%)
- Improper Turn (5%)
- Disregarded Traffic Signal/Sign (5%)
Original article by Mark Green of Fox13.
Photo courtesy of wikimedia.