A 3-year-old Utah girl has died of injuries she suffered in a multi-vehicle crash early Wednesday on snowy Interstate 15.
According to Utah Highway Patrol, at least nine vehicles were involved in the sprawling wreck’s three consecutive crashes, which happened on northbound I-15 in Ogden, near 21st Street, at about 5 a.m.
UHP said that in one of those crashes, the driver of a Hyundai Genesis lost control and hit a concrete median barrier. The child, Jax Phillips, was a passenger in a Chrysler PT Cruiser, which swerved to avoid hitting the Hyundai and also hit the barrier.
A Dodge pickup truck then the PT Cruiser on the left side, and a Toyota Corolla slammed head-on into the Hyundai — which had spun around. A Honda Civic then hit the PT Cruiser on its right side, Highway Patrol said.
The 3-year-old girl was the only person who suffered serious injuries in the wreck, according to UHP. Jax was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where she died a short time later.
The Highway Patrol later reported that KSL-TV journalist and anchor Shara Park stopped and tried to help Jax and her mother after the collision
“Kindness like this helps bring calm in a chaotic situation,” the agency advised. “Always use caution when stopping at crash scenes, these can be dangerous incidents.”
Park tweeted early Wednesday that she couldn’t “put into words” what she and KSL photographer John Wilson “had to do at this multi-vehicle crash. ... My hands are smeared with a child’s blood and I’m shaking.”
She urged drivers to “please slow down.”
A GoFundMe page is raising money to pay for Jax’s funeral costs. As of Thursday morning, it had raised more than $5,900.
