Bikers' deaths on I-15 not hit and run, UHP says

The driver of a white Subaru Outback that hit and killed a couple on a motorcycle as a wildfire quickly approached apparently did stop and ask for help.

The problem was, authorities may have been too busy dealing with the inferno to help them.

"They're not calling this a hit and run because apparently the vehicle did try to stop and make contact with emergency personnel and were told to wait," Utah Highway Patrol trooper Preston Raban told the Deseret Morning News Monday.

When the fire got too close to I-15, troopers said either authorities told them to get out of there, or the driver took off in the confusion.

"They waited for quite some time until the dangerous fire made it so they had to leave," Raban said.

Rex Redmon, 68, and his wife, Mary Ann, 65, of Rowland Heights, Calif., were riding a motorcycle southbound on I-15 near Kanosh when they came upon a road closure for the Milford Flat Fire.

Troopers said they were hit and killed by a car whose driver didn't see them because of the smoke. Authorities do not have a license plate or contact information for the driver of the white Subaru Outback. The UHP said the driver of the car has not stepped forward.

"Did they flee the scene of an accident? Not really," Raban said.

Still, there could be a citation issued because the driver did not contact authorities to report the fatal accident, the UHP said. Potential charges could range from leaving the scene of an accident to following too closely.

The Milford Flat Fire has burned more than 300,000 acres of sagebrush, grass and juniper trees in Beaver and Millard counties. It started last week when lightning struck three miles outside of Milford. A summer home and two outbuildings have burned in the blaze.

Road closures along I-15 and I-70 have been frequent since this blaze began. On Monday, the UHP closed the freeways again so that firefighters could do some "backburning" in an effort to stop the wildfire from spreading.

They used the freeways as a firebreak and set smaller fires in an effort to burn out the dry fuels, giving the wildfire nothing to feed on.

---

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com