This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A woman is dead after a tractor-trailer and three other vehicles crashed Thursday afternoon and clogged traffic for miles along a south Salt Lake County stretch of Interstate 15.
Brian Hyer, spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety, said 21-year-old Kimberly Jo Christensen, of Sandy, who was a passenger in a car hit by the truck, was taken to the hospital and died of her injuries.
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Todd Johnson said the northbound truck driver suffered critical injuries in the 1:25 p.m. crash near 7800 South. The extent of injuries to drivers and passengers in the other vehicles was not available Thursday evening.
Johnson said that the accident happened as traffic began slowing and the truck, which was hauling a load of dried peas, swerved to avoid a vehicle in front of it. It began to tip and made contact with two pickup trucks. It also struck the rear right side of a car, which is where Christensen was sitting.
All four northbound lanes were closed, and traffic was backed up from 7800 South to near 12000 South. Delays of 15 minutes or more were being reported as motorists were being detoured off the 9000 South exit.