A crash that authorities say was fueled by road rage killed two people in Utah County — and the people killed were not involved in the events that led up to the wreck.
On Sunday at about 12:30 p.m., Utah County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the scene of the crash, which happened on State Route 73 near milepost 30 in Eagle Mountain.
The driver of a 2014 Nissan Maxima reported that about 5 miles away in the city center area of Eagle Mountain, the driver of a 2016 Ford F-150 had pulled out in front of him on northbound Eagle Mountain Boulevard, setting off a “road rage incident,” according to the sheriff’s office. The two drivers continued north before turning east on SR 73.
The driver of the Maxima, who passed the F-150 at some point, told deputies that the truck then tailgated him before moving into the eastbound emergency lane, pulling up alongside his car and ramming the Maxima from the side, authorities said.
The driver of the Maxima told deputies he then slowed down. That’s when the driver of the F-150 lost control of his truck, crossed the center line and crashed head on into a 1987 Porsche 911.
The collision “completely destroyed” the Porsche, killing both the driver, 48-year-old Rodney Michal Salm, of Salt Lake City; and his passenger, 47-year-old Michaela Himmleberger, of Holladay.
“Salm and Himmelberger were completely uninvolved in the road rage incident except at the point where the driver of the F-150 lost control and crashed head on into the Porsche,” a news release states.
The driver of the F-150 was taken to a hospital and treated for survivable injuries. Criminal charges against him are pending, according to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
