Five people who died in a single highway crash accounted for all traffic fatalities over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
“Fatalities-wise, it’s definitely higher [than previous years],” said UHP Sgt. Todd Royce on Tuesday. “It was a bad weekend for us.”
The Saturday crash, a head-on collision in Iron County, occurred when 19-year-old Fernando Ruiz, of Cedar City — who was heading eastbound on State Route 56 at 4:30 p.m. — crossed into the opposite lane.
His Chevrolet Suburban hit a Ford Escape carrying four family members: 58-year-old Jesus Jimenez-Lopez, 57-year-old Lydia Jimenez, 60-year-old Jose Jimenez and 19-year-old Juan Antonio Jimenez Sanchez.
UHP also reported there were another 172 highway crashes between Nov. 22-26, some which resulted in critical injuries, Rotce said.
A 10-year-old was flown to a hospital in critical condition after a vehicle rear-ended a dump truck on Interstate 70 in Grand County, Royce said.
UHP troopers also responded to a motorcycle that crashed into the back of an SUV in Washington City on Sunday. As of Tuesday, the motorcyclist is still in extremely critical condition.
Also between Nov. 22 and Nov. 26, UHP stopped 5752 vehicles on the highway. Of those: