Driver in fatal crash found
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Utah Highway Patrol has located the driver of a white pickup who it was searching for over the weekend in connection with a fiery crash on Interstate 80 that killed one person and critically injured another.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Nigbur said a Salt Lake County man in his 60s has come forward and acknowledged being near the Tooele County-Salt Lake County line about 11 a.m. Saturday when the crash occurred.

The man's daughter called authorities Sunday after recognizing the description of her father's truck on the news. She and her father met with troopers in Tooele on Sunday and brought the truck, Nigbur said. The man admitted to being in the area and explained why he left. Nigbur would not relay the reason the man gave for leaving. He has not been arrested. Troopers are talking to witnesses again to see if they can place the man's truck at the scene of the crash.

UHP identified Mark Neilson, of Magna, as the man who died in the crash. Neilson was severely burned.

The crash happened about 11 a.m. when Neilson's eastbound Dodge Dakota crossed the median and hit a westbound FedEx triple-semitrailer head-on, said UHP spokesman Cameron Roden. Part of the truck was loaded with ammunition.

The collision started a fire that engulfed the Dakota and part of the semi, and some of the ammunition went off as emergency crews cleaned up the crash, Roden said.

Troopers believe Neilson's truck was cut off by a pickup, described only as dirty and white, that did not stop at the scene, Roden said. The Dakota crossed the median through a turn-off gap in a cable barrier.

The man in the pickup told troopers Sunday the Dakota came up on him at a high rate of speed. Witnesses have told investigators the white pickup cut the Dakota off, but the driver of the Dakota may have been driving erratically, Nigbur said.

The semi driver remained critical at University Hospital.

Man in 60s » Daughter recognized description from news.
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