This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A dramatic seven-car pile up that involved an airborne SUV in Taylorsville snarled traffic Saturday morning but resulted in surprisingly few injuries.
The accident happened about 10 a.m. at the intersection of 5400 South and 2700 West, according to Unified Police Detective Jared Richardson. He said an eastbound black SUV hit a blue Pontiac Grand Am and a gray BMW in the intersection. The SUV then "became airborne," Richardson said, and traveled "20 or 30 feet" before slamming into the hoods and windshields of a green minivan and a GMC Yukon. The SUV finally came to rest upside-down near the minivan.
During the accident the BMW also spun around and hit a gray Pontiac Trans Am. The seventh vehicle, a white truck, was "splattered" with debris but didn't actually hit anything, Richardson said.
Two hours after the accident, Richardson described the scene as a "mess," but added that only two people were transported to hospitals, both in fair condition: A 75-year-old woman who was driving the black SUV and a 68-year-old man who was behind the wheel of the blue Grand Am. Both had only minor injuries, Richardson said.
Richardson said late Saturday that investigators did not immediately know whether one of the vehicles ran a red light or who had the right of way. He said one or more citations likely would result from the accident, although police first had to figure out who was at fault. He said more information could be available Monday
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