SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - A fatal I-80 crash on the border of Salt Lake and Tooele Counties caused traffic to be backed up for miles.
Eyewitness reports indicate that around 11:00 a.m., a car cut off a pick-up truck heading east on I-80. The pick-up lost control, crossed over to west-bound traffic, and collided into a FedEx semi-truck.
"The driver who cut him off stopped and obviously had seen what happened and just drove off," eyewitness Nicola Felton said.
Fire officials say the pick-up was completely burned, killing the driver. The Fedex semi-truck driver was flown to Intermountain Medical Center in critical condition.
"He was visibly injured. He took ten steps and he collapsed to the ground," said eye-witness Damian Darcy who saw the driver of the Fedex truck shortly after the truck burst into flames.
"Because of the remote area where the accident occurred, we don't have a constant water supply," said Captain Clint Smith, of Unified Fire Authority.
Troopers allowed traffic to keep going around the crash until bullets started going off from the Fedex truck loaded with ammunition. I-80 was then shut down for over six hours with a back-up of 10 miles.
The Highway Patrol has identified the driver of the pick-up who was killed as Mark Neilson of Magna. Troopers had to break the news to his wife Saturday night.
Police are now looking for the vehicle that cut off the truck and possibly caused the accident.
The Highway Patrol is looking for the car that cut off the pick-up and allegedly caused the accident in the first place. The only information is that it's a dirty white or cream-colored pick-up truck. They are asking for anyone with more information to please come forward.
