By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
An elderly man died Thursday as rain, snow, sleet and
hail swept through Juab County causing difficult driving
conditions.
The crash occurred at 12:20 p.m. on March 24, said
Hoby Metz, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt.
The fatality occurred on I-15 in the northbound lane
at mile marker 199.
"A hail storm impacted I-15 at that location," said
Metz. "There were six separate multi-vehicle crashes.
The elderly man died in a crash during inclement
weather.
Killed was Marvin Peterson, 76, of Richfield.
The vehicle driven by Ethel Peterson was a 2004 Ford
Explorer.
"Ethel Peterson lost control of her vehicle," Metz
said. "A contributing circumstance to the crash was too high
a speed for the conditions and hail/slush on the roadway,"
Metz said.
The Peterson vehicle went off the roadway into the
median and rolled 2 and 1/2 times coming to rest on its
top.
Both Petersons were wearing seat belts.
"Both occupants were placed in ground ambulances,"
said Metz.
Medical Helicopters had been dispatched but before the
helicopters arrived, Marvin Peterson coded and died at the
scene.
Ethel Peterson was transported by helicopter first to
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and then to Salt Lake
County.
Metz said that her condition is still serious.
Several people were also injured in a series of
crashes that shut down I-15 in Juab County for several
hours.
At least six crashes occurred about 2:20 p.m. during a
hailstorm near milepost 199 of I-15 in south Juab
County.
Metz said visibility was extremely poor and roadway
conditions made travel on the freeway extremely
dangerous.
There were a total of three separate patients flown by
helicopter from that section of highway.
Metz said there were three semi-tractors and trailers
involved as well as a motorhome, pickup truck and trailer,
and other vehicles.
Interstate-15 was closed to northbound traffic for
four hours (12:20 p.m.to 4:25 p.m.).
"The storm affected only a small distance of I-15,"
said Metz. "We had to close that section of the freeway,"
Metz said.
He said both the northbound and southbound lanes of
the freeway were affected in the series of crashes.
Another crash happened in the southbound lanes, where
two cars collided. None of the occupants of either vehicle
were seriously injured.
In the northbound lanes, five-car, three-car and
two-car crashes occurred as well as one single-vehicle
crash, Metz said.
Most of the injured were taken to Central Valley
Medical Center in Nephi, about 20 miles to the north by East
Juab ambulances.
"Two AirMed helicopters also transported injured
motorists," Metz said.
The roads were wet, however, drivers consistently fail
to drive appropriately for conditions, he said.
"People need to remember to consider the driving
conditions and to slow down in bad weather," he said.
"You can't and shouldn't drive the same in bad weather
conditions as you would on a nice sunny day."
Thursday's storm spread from Cache County to Utah's
Dixie, though most of the precipitation fell in northern
Utah.
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