ERDA, Tooele County — Three teenagers were hospitalized in very critical condition Tuesday after their Geo Metro hit a pickup truck on state Route 36.
Medical helicopters transported the victims to University Hospital in Salt Lake City and Intermountain Medical Center in Murray following the 4:40 p.m. accident that shut down the southbound lanes of state Route 36.
Utah Highway Patrol trooper Cameron Roden said the northbound pickup truck was turning left onto Erda Way at a light when the southbound Geo Metro crashed into the passenger side of the truck, critically injuring the two teenage girls and one boy, all of whom are about 16 or 17 years old. Troopers said the boy was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the back seat of the car.
"They're in really bad condition," Roden said.
The occupants of the pickup truck, including two adults, a 10-year-old boy and an infant, received only minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
It's unknown whether one of the drivers ran a red light, Roden said, but alcohol is not believed to have been a factor.
— Lana Groves