Police vehicle responding to morning accidents hit on freeway

SALT LAKE CITY — Slick conditions led to a close call for one Utah Highway Patrol trooper and three Utah drivers Sunday morning.

UHP Cpl. Todd Johnson said the trooper was approaching a car that had lost control and slid off to the left on southbound on I-15 near the I-80 interchange just before 10 a.m.

The driver of a Jeep, seeing the patrol car's lights, attempted to slow down but also slid off to the left and crashed nearby, partially blocking the carpool lane, Johnson said.

As the trooper was retrieving something from the trunk of his patrol car to assist the two drivers, a third car clipped the back corner of the UHP vehicle, narrowly missing the trooper and sliding toward the right side of the freeway.

No one was injured in the accidents, but they serve as a reminder to slow down in winter conditions, Johnson said. 

"They were all going too fast for conditions," he said. "Even if the road just looks wet, people need to slow down."

— McKenzie Romero, Twitter: @McKenzieRomero