Vehicle pileups close I-15 near Willard

WILLARD, Box Elder County — Southbound I-15 was closed Saturday afternoon while the Utah Highway Patrol cleaned up two vehicle pileups.

About 2:15 p.m., two vehicles in southbound lanes collided during whiteout conditions. The road had snowpack and ice, UHP trooper Todd Johnson said. "And that just started a chain reaction," he said, with 20 vehicles colliding in southbound lanes.

In northbound lanes, 11 vehicles collided shortly after the southbound pileup. "You get rubbernecks," Johnson said. "People seeing the emergency lights and slowing down, and then somebody comes too fast" and hits the other vehicles.

One person was transported in critical condition to McKay-Dee Hospital Center in Ogden. Five others were transported with minor injuries, Johnson said.

No citations had been issued by Saturday evening. The accident is under investigation, Johnson said.

— Laura Hancock