Traffic Accidents Utah

An elderly Orange resident was struck and killed by a motor home as he was standing in a traffic lane taking pictures, the Utah Highway Patrol said Saturday. James Denwiddie, 71, was standing in the westbound lane of Interstate 70, about 35 miles east of this town, which is about 90 miles south of Salt Lake City in central Utah. He was struck by a motor home driven by Garold McDonald, 74, of Las Vegas, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

Amtrak's Desert Wind passenger train struck a car at a suburban crossing, killing three teenagers. The three were traveling in a caravan of three cars that attempted to cross the tracks late Sunday in this suburb 19 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, said Police Chief John Parker.

Four teen-agers who watched a driver fall unconscious and crash into a cemetery have been arrested on charges of looting her car and stealing the engagement ring off her finger, police said. The 24-year-old woman swerved off the road Tuesday night after apparently suffering an epileptic seizure, Assistant Police Chief Paul Forbes said. As she lay unconscious in her car, the teen-agers, who had been driving behind her, stopped and stole her purse and the ring, he said.

An autopsy has implicated an air bag in the death of a 5-year-old boy whose neck was broken when his grandmother's car bumped into a concrete planter box in a parking lot. The dual air bags inflated in the Oct. 10 accident, twisting Jordan West's head, said Val Wilson, North Salt Lake police chief. Medical examiners said "the air bag definitely [was] a cause in the death," Wilson said Monday. Lynn Oliver was trying to park the Camaro Z-28 and was driving slowly, Wilson said. General Motors Corp.

A 26-year-old Huntington Beach woman was killed when the vehicle she was riding in went off a scenic southern Utah road and crashed, National Park Service authorities said Monday. Michelle Eckroth died of injuries suffered in the one-vehicle accident Sunday on the Burr Trail, about 40 miles north of the Utah-Arizona state line, said Karen Whitney, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area spokeswoman.

A Southern California youth was killed and four of his Cerritos High School classmates suffered minor injuries when their van rolled over on a return trip from a football camp in Utah, officials said. Eric John Stranz, 17, died in the accident on Interstate 15, about 20 miles south of the town of Nephi, a Utah Highway Patrol officer said. All four of the other teen-agers were treated for severe cuts, and three were released from Utah Valley Medical Center, dispatchers said.

A woman believed to be driving the wrong way on a divided highway apparently triggered a head-on collision that killed her two children and five other people and left her in critical condition, authorities said Friday. Alcoholic beverage containers were found in both vehicles, but investigators have not determined if anyone involved was intoxicated in the Thursday accident near Wendover, police said.

A Costa Mesa woman was killed in Utah when a car driven by her brother hit a guard rail and rolled over several times, the Utah Highway Patrol reported Monday. Suzanne Michelle Hubbard, 25, was pronounced dead Saturday at the scene of the one-car accident on Interstate 70, about 25 miles west of the city of Green River. Hubbard was partially ejected from the vehicle although she was wearing a seat belt, according to the Highway Patrol. Her brother, Carl Aubrey Hubbard, 19, of Littleton, Colo.

Amtrak's Desert Wind passenger train struck a car at a suburban crossing, killing three teenagers. The three were traveling in a caravan of three cars that attempted to cross the tracks late Sunday in this suburb 19 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, said Police Chief John Parker.

The two South County bicycle riders killed over the weekend in Utah had cut short their tour and were heading back to a meeting point ahead of their tour group when they were struck by a pickup truck on Interstate 70, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper said Monday. The rest of the tour members were learning of the accident Monday as they straggled into Richfield, about 10 miles west of the crash site. Patricia M. Harris, 67, of Mission Viejo and Clem R.

The two South County bicycle riders killed over the weekend in Utah had cut short their tour and were heading back to a meeting point ahead of their tour group when they were struck by a pickup truck on Interstate 70, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper said Monday. The rest of the tour members were learning of the accident Monday as they straggled into Richfield, about 10 miles west of the crash site. Patricia M. Harris, 67, of Mission Viejo and Clem R.

Two South County bicycle riders making a long-distance group tour of Utah were killed by a pickup truck near Richfield, Utah, the Utah Highway Patrol reported Sunday. Patricia M. Harris, 67, and Clem R. Wilson, 69, of Lake Forest, were on separate bikes, riding in the emergency lane of Interstate 70 about 10 miles east of Richfield, officers said. The accident occurred about 1:20 p.m. Saturday.

A North Hollywood couple and an Illinois woman were killed when their car plunged 150 feet from a scenic road near Zion National Park in southwestern Utah, the Utah Highway Patrol reported Monday. Authorities identified the victims of the accident Sunday as Charyl Padgett and her husband, Stephen Padgett, both 38, and Charyl Padgett's sister, Dawn Hamilton, 29, of Chicago. Charyl Padgett, the driver, was 22 weeks pregnant. The fetus did not survive, Sgt. Jim Lloyd said.

A woman believed to be driving the wrong way on a divided highway apparently triggered a head-on collision that killed her two children and five other people and left her in critical condition, authorities said Friday. Alcoholic beverage containers were found in both vehicles, but investigators have not determined if anyone involved was intoxicated in the Thursday accident near Wendover, police said.

University of Utah basketball player Paul Afeaki was under police protection in Salt Lake City Friday while detectives searched for a man who allegedly shot him in the left shoulder after a traffic confrontation. Afeaki, 22, a 6-foot-10 reserve center, was treated at the school's Health Sciences Center late Thursday for what spokesman John Dwan described as a superficial wound to the left shoulder.

An elderly Orange resident was struck and killed by a motor home as he was standing in a traffic lane taking pictures, the Utah Highway Patrol said Saturday. James Denwiddie, 71, was standing in the westbound lane of Interstate 70, about 35 miles east of this town, which is about 90 miles south of Salt Lake City in central Utah. He was struck by a motor home driven by Garold McDonald, 74, of Las Vegas, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

Two South County bicycle riders making a long-distance group tour of Utah were killed by a pickup truck near Richfield, Utah, the Utah Highway Patrol reported Sunday. Patricia M. Harris, 67, and Clem R. Wilson, 69, of Lake Forest, were on separate bikes, riding in the emergency lane of Interstate 70 about 10 miles east of Richfield, officers said. The accident occurred about 1:20 p.m. Saturday.

A Costa Mesa woman was killed in Utah when a car driven by her brother hit a guard rail and rolled over several times, the Utah Highway Patrol reported Monday. Suzanne Michelle Hubbard, 25, was pronounced dead Saturday at the scene of the one-car accident on Interstate 70, about 25 miles west of the city of Green River. Hubbard was partially ejected from the vehicle although she was wearing a seat belt, according to the Highway Patrol. Her brother, Carl Aubrey Hubbard, 19, of Littleton, Colo.

A 26-year-old Huntington Beach woman was killed when the vehicle she was riding in went off a scenic southern Utah road and crashed, National Park Service authorities said Monday. Michelle Eckroth died of injuries suffered in the one-vehicle accident Sunday on the Burr Trail, about 40 miles north of the Utah-Arizona state line, said Karen Whitney, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area spokeswoman.