Memorial Day traffic accidents pagued the local area, resulting in personal injuries and one fatality.
On May 24 at 4:02 p.m., 29-year old Michael Joseph Everett of Spanish Fork died when the modified Jeep he was driving reportedly flipped and rolled near milepost 242 by the east Price interchange on U.S. Highway 6.
‘Apparently, the traffic slowed and he braked hard and tried to swerve to the right side of the road,’ explained Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Vasquez. ‘The vehicle flipped around and rolled onto the drivers side. It appears he was killed on the first roll.’
The Jeep had no top or doors, which may have contributed to the death. The occupants were strapped in the vehicle.
Vasquez was traveling in a patrol car several vehicles in front of the Jeep. The trooper saw the rolling Jeep, but did not witness the incident.
‘We had no witnesses who saw the entire accident,’ he stated.
Teverett’s 7-year-old stepson, Kaleb Barnum, was a passenger in the Jeep. The boy incurred bumps and bruises in the mishap. The death was the only local traffic fatality reported during the holiday weekend.
Several unrelated mishaps also caused problems for motorists. At approximatley 2:25 p.m. on Saturday, a U-Haul trailer being pulled by a woman moving from Salt Lake to New Mexico went off the road west of Wellington. The accident closed U.S. 6 for 35 minutes, but no injuries resulted from mishap.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, an unidentified driver apparently fell asleep and lost control of a vehicle west of the Scofield cutoff. The car rolled once and took out fencing on the north side of the road.
‘He only received some bumps and bruises,’ advised Vasquez. ‘His seat belt saved him from serious injury.’
Memorial Weekend Accidents Plague Area, Spanish Fork Man Dies in U.S. 6 Mishap
