A motorcyclist was killed after a crash on U.S. 189 around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 2.
The 31-year-old was traveling northbound with another motorcycle near mile marker 16 in Provo Canyon when he lost control, according to Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Cameron Roden.
“For a reason we still have not yet determined, the motorcyclist went off the road and hit the barrier,” he said. “That caused him to sustain fatal injuries, and he ultimately passed away at the scene.”
The man’s identity has not yet been released.
The same afternoon, at about 4:30 p.m., a separate crash occurred on state Route 248 around mile marker 6, northeast of the Jordanelle Reservoir.
A pickup truck struck a sedan while the smaller car was trying to turn left onto 248. The truck’s driver tried but failed to avoid the crash.
“He tried to brake when he saw him coming,” Roden said. “The pickup truck hit the driver’s side fender and door… causing it to spin out, about 180-degree spin, and across the median into oncoming traffic, leaving the roadway.”
After the car spun off the road, it went down a steep embankment. The driver and a passenger were taken by ambulance to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the pickup truck was also injured but got to the hospital on his own.
Both crashes remain under investigation.
Roden said Highway Patrol sees an increase in traffic fatalities in the summer.
“We call it our 100 deadliest days – that starts from about Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day,” he said.
Summer risks include people traveling long distances, driving under the influence around holidays in particular, faster speeds in warm weather and more pedestrian-involved crashes. Roden urges drivers to use caution when traveling this time of year.
