Winter Weather — Southwest Utah, Utah

2024-01-06 · Southwest Utah, Utah

Event narrative

At approximately 1:20 am MST on 1/6, an incident was reported to law enforcement of an accident involving an F-150 pickup truck travelling on southbound I-15 near milepost 81, just north of Paragonah. Utah State Highway Patrol concluded that the driver lost control of the vehicle on black ice, causing the vehicle to spin left into the median, roll over, and eject all three occupants of the vehicle before coming to rest on its side blocking the northbound lanes of the interstate. Of the three occupants, an adult female (age 26) died at the scene, an injured adult male (age not specified) was transported to the hospital via ground transportation, and an injured female infant (age 1) was transported to the hospital via helicopter transportation. The occupants were reported to not be wearing seatbelts, which in turn was deemed a likely contribution to the severity of the crash. Despite both the adult male and infant female being described as in critical condition for a period following the accident, both are reported to have recovered. The northbound lanes of I-15 near the crash site were closed for approximately 2.5 hours following the incident in order to allow Utah Highway Patrol to conduct the investigation.

Wider weather episode

After a very brief respite from a more modest winter system in the preceding days, another stronger winter system moved through the Intermountain West. This system brought accumulating snow to much of Utah, with some areas receiving more substantial amounts. Additionally, a fatal vehicle accident occurred in this time as a result of black ice.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1150637. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.