One teenage passenger is dead and another is in custody after the driver swerved his car into a head-on collision with another vehicle at the intersection of 3900 South and Atherton Drive in Taylorsville early Tuesday.
An 18-year-old man is under investigation in connection with the deadly crash, which followed two earlier incidents.
About 1 a.m., a Chevrolet Trailblazer driving fast on 3900 South “swerved over into the oncoming eastbound lane” and collided head-on with a Toyota sedan, said Unified Police Detective Chuck Malm. “They tried to avoid the suspect vehicle, but, obviously, it didn’t happen.”
The Trailblazer rolled, and a teenage girl who was a passenger died at the scene. Three other passengers were transported to the hospital; a 16-year-old girl was uninjured.
The driver and passenger in the second car “walked away from the accident with a couple bumps and bruises,” Malm said.
The driver of the Trailblazer ran from the accident, but police apprehended him shortly thereafter. He was treated for minor injuries and placed in custody.
UPD did not disclose the name of the deceased teen Tuesday.
The fatal accident followed two earlier incidents that may have involved the same Trailblazer.
Unified Police received a report of a reckless driver in the Millcreek area about 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Malm said. An officer located the vehicle near 3900 South and Main Street, activated his lights and siren, and the vehicle sped away.
“Our officer immediately pulled over and did not pursue the vehicle, because at that time we just had a traffic violation,” Malm said. “We didn’t want to put the public at risk.”
Just before 1 a.m., officers responded to a report of suspicious activity at the Artesian Springs apartments at 4197 S. Main St. in Murray and “observed what appeared to be the same vehicle that fled earlier,” Malm said. “Several individuals jumped in the vehicle and took off.”
That time, the officers were on foot and had no opportunity to pursue.
