Investigators: some teens in crash were riding in the trunk
Jun 14, 2018, 7:50 AM | Updated: 11:49 am
(UPDATED: 11:40 a.m.)
WEBER COUNTY — Investigators say two of the seven teens who were in a car that careened off a steep slope overnight were riding in the trunk of the vehicle.
According to Weber County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Matt Jensen, one of those teenagers is now in critical condition. He says the driver of the Honda Accord was a 16-year-old male.
Jensen says investigators believe the driver failed to navigate a right turn on Highway 39, south of the Monte Cristo Campground, launching off the road and landing 180 feet down a ravine, coming to rest upside-down in a tree. Crews had to use a pulley system to get it out.
Sheriff’s Sergeant Mark Horton told KSL speed was likely a factor on the winding mountain road, where the limit is 40 miles per hour.
“We’re putting the car at 70 plus,” Horton says. “One of the occupants was able to crawl up to the roadway to get cell phone service.”
Four medical helicopters took four of the teens to local hospitals. The other 3 were taken by ambulance with less serious injuries.
All the teens are from the Ogden area.