Icy roads cause 6 accidents on Bangerter

Icy roads had police running around as 6 car accidents piled up over a 3-hour period Wednesday night.

On a stretch of highway running from 13400 South and Bangerter Highway to Interstate 15, one accident after another occurred with varying severity of injuries from 9 p.m. to midnight.

"The problem is the weather," said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Jason Johnson. "People are driving too fast and can't see the icy patches."

And the black ice proved disastrous for drivers time after time, including for one pick-up truck driver travelling northbound on the highway who lost traction when hitting his brakes to avoid a car, Johnson said.

Police believe the car was pulled off to the left side of the road near an embankment but still in the way, causing the truck driver to slam into the car and rolling it. Police rescued the female driver of the car, who was trapped in the vehicle, and sent her by ambulance to a local hospital in serious condition.

Another rollover on the highway had minor injuries, and other accidents at 1600 West and another at 1100 West on the highway also caused damage, police said.

After some of the accidents, the Utah Department of Transportation sent salt trucks running up and down Bangerter to avoid additional crashes, Johnson said.

"Hopefully that will help," he said. "Drivers hit these sheets of ice and just slide off."

— Lana Groves