A Monday car wreck that stemmed from a plane landing on Interstate 15 in northern Utah has left one person dead and several injured, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.
At about 8:11 p.m. on Monday evening, a small plane above the Payson area experienced engine failure, prompting its pilot and student pilot to land on I-15 below.
They did so successfully near the exit for Payson’s Main Street, and several cars in the lane were able to stop behind it. Troopers said a handful of people tried to help push it off the road.
But a pickup truck traveling toward the plane-involved backup failed to stop in time to avoid striking four other vehicles, pushing them into the aircraft.
The driver in the first vehicle struck, 58-year-old Valdecir De Oliveira, of Santaquin, died at the hospital.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden said Oliveira died several hours after his pickup was hit.
At least three others were also taken to hospitals with injuries of varying severity.
According to DPS, the plane was eventually towed off the freeway, where it could be disassembled and transported. The roadway reopened at around 11:30 p.m.
Roden said there’s an ongoing investigation into what prevented the driver who hit Oliveira’s vehicle from stopping in time — “whether speed was an issue; whether distraction was an issue,” Roden said. “So that’ll be part of the investigation.”
He said no charges had been filed as of Wednesday, adding that Utah Highway Patrol will review the investigation’s findings with the county attorney.
