Two Juab High School seniors were killed Thursday when their car was struck by a train at a railroad crossing in northwest Nephi.
A Kearns man died Friday morning after he was ejected from the Jeep he was riding in and it rolled over him.And a Springville woman is dead following a weather-related rollover Wednesday.
Killed in the accidents were:
Tiffany Taylor, 17, Levan.
Raymond Newton, 17, Mona.
Max Sommerville, 76, Kearns.
Evelia Ortega, 23, Springville.
Sommerville and his grandson, Lance Sommerville, 23, Salt Lake City, were driving north on I-15 through Woods Cross when the rear axle of the Jeep separated and the left wheel came off.
"Witnesses watched the left rear tire start to shake. The tire came loose when the axle broke and went shooting down the roadway," said Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Ted Tingey.
The Jeep slammed into a concrete barrier, ejecting Max Somerville, who was not wearing a seat belt. "Then the vehicle rolled on top of him," Tingey said. A helicopter ambulance took the man to LDS Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Lance Somerville was wearing a seat belt and suffered only minor injuries, Tingey said.
Nephi Police officer Carl Howard, Nephi City Police officer, said Newton and Taylor apparently failed to see an approaching train until it was too late. "The engineer said the train was using its lights and whistle."
The accident occurred at 12:15 p.m., just after lunch break started at the high school. Taylor was driving.
"The young couple appeared to be conversing and perhaps had the radio playing and apparently never heard or saw the train approaching," said Howard.
The crossing was marked with a sign but did not have barriers or arms. "The speed of the train was 50 mph, under the limit," said Howard.
Ortega was killed in a rollover on U-75 in Springville at about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday. She was the passenger in small pickup driven by Eraclio Ortega, 25, Springville. Springville Police Lt. Oliver Nielsen said the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which hit an icy patch on the highway overpass near 600 West.
The truck then hit the guardrail, plunging over an embankment and rolling several times during the 25-foot fall, Nielsen said.
Workers at the nearby Stouffer's Foods plant, who witnessed the accident, attempted to help the victims.
Both the victims were taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, where Evelia Ortega was pronounced dead on arrival, due to severe head and neck injuries. Eraclio Ortega, who also suffered head and neck injuries, was listed in satisfactory condition Friday morning.