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ALAN MURRAY/Standard-Examiner

Layton police officers examine a vehicle involved in a fatal crash on U.S. 89 Friday.

U.S. 89 crash claims life

Traffic shut down for hours

Sat, Nov 2, 2002

By LINDA TOBLER
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau

LAYTON -- For now, there is no reason why.

But the dashboard forced through the shattered front windshield of the white Buick Century is evidence of a severe two-car accident that cost a man his life and completely shut down traffic on U.S. 89 Friday afternoon.

Two accident victims were also flown by helicopter to the University of Utah Hospital and LDS Hospital, respectively, and three others were sent by ambulance to local hospitals. Identities of the individuals involved in the accident were withheld pending notification of relatives.

ALAN MURRAY/Standard-Examiner

Firefighters work to free the body of an accident victim from a vehicle at a crash scene on 1975 North and U.S. 89 in Layton Friday.

The accident occurred at 1975 North U.S. 89 just before 2 p.m., when a tan Chevrolet Lumina, headed north, inexplicably crossed into southbound lanes hitting the Buick that was in the outside southbound lane. The blow of the Lumina crumpled the driver"s side of the Buick, and the driver was killed instantly.

"At this point, we don"t know why the Lumina crossed into southbound lanes. He may have fallen asleep, he may have tried to make a U-turn. We don"t know," said Layton Police Lt. Quinn Moyes.

The Buick came to rest in weeds on the road"s shoulder. While the driver, the only occupant of the Lumina, was conscious and talking following the accident, all five of the occupants in the Buick were unconscious when emergency personnel arrived on the scene. The occupants had to be extricated from the vehicle.

"It was surreal. It was like something on TV. They were the worst injuries I"ve ever seen," said Steve Greenwalt, who did not witness the accident, but was one of the first on the scene. "I knew he (the driver) was dead right away."

Helicopters landed on U.S. 89 to pick up victims.

Conditions of some of the victims were unavailable late Friday night.

However, of the two victims admitted to McKay-Dee Hospital, one was in fair condition with a fractured wrist, and the other was in critical condition and in surgery.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, Moyes said.