MANTI — A Manti High School senior was killed Thursday afternoon on the way home from school in a dramatic accident on U.S. 89 between Manti and Ephraim.
Killed was:
Emily Bingham, 17.
Bingham is a daughter of Evan Glen and Amy Bingham, who live on a farm north of Manti.
Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Lynn McAfee said the victim was northbound in a Honda Accord when she stopped to turn down the lane to her farm.
Another northbound car carrying other Manti High School students had just passed a car and pulled back into the northbound lane. That car rear-ended the Bingham girl's car, thrusting it over the center line, where a southbound car hit it.
The gas tank of the Honda exploded, and the car burst into flames. The students whose car had hit the Honda tried to help their classmate out of her car, but the doors were locked. By the time local fire crews responded, the girl was dead.
Local residents were shocked by the tragedy. A high school play scheduled for Thursday evening was canceled.
Wally Buchanan, a former Sanpete County sheriff, who saw the aftermath, said, "I was sheriff for 21 years, and I've never seen one that bad."