DPS NEWS

Additional details on the Fatal Crash at 4200 W SR-201 WB.

DPS Incident Notification 7865 (Crash – Fatal / Supplemental Information / Sent: 04-20-2020  12:26)

Section: 4 // District: I

Date: 04-20-2020

Time: 10:10

Location: SR-201 Westbound 4200 West

Mile Post: 12

Travel Direction: West

Inv. Agency: Utah Highway Patrol

Initial Description:
        On April 20, 2020 at 10:10 AM a white Ford F150 pickup truck with two occupants was traveling westbound on SR-201 near 4200 West (Bangerter Highway). The pickup was hauling construction supplies and lost a ladder in the middle lane. The driver came to a stop in the far left lane to retrieve the ladder in traffic. A Blue Honda Civic Sedan with a single occupant was traveling in the far left lane (lane number one) and a black Honda Odyssey with two occupants minivan was traveling in the middle (lane number two) Traffic started to swerve to avoid hitting the truck and ladder in both lanes. The blue sedan did not have enough time to swerve and rear ended the pickup truck. The sedan was forced from the crash into the middle lane and the minivan rear ended the sedan. The minivan driver was unable to maintain control and hit the concrete wall on the left then rolled one time to the right. Fire and Medical units arrived on scene and began extrication and life saving measures.  The injuries to the driver of the sedan were life-threatening, medical personnel determined him to be deceased on scene. The deceased driver of the sedan is Lance Budge, 25-years-old, of Saratoga Springs. He was wearing a seat belt. SR-201 westbound Bangerter Off-ramp and On-Ramp are closed and are expected to be closed for investigation purposes till approximately 2:30 PM.

UHP encourages those hauling materials in external locations on their vehicles to consistently check and double check that those materials are properly secured. Rubber bungee-style tie downs don’t last forever, they rot over time due to environmental exposure and must be replaced often. For this reason, a more secure method of tying down externally secured items should be utilized.

Unfortunately, road debris is a hazard State Troopers see daily. In this incident, road debris contributed to a fatal crash. Motorists should expect to encounter debris on our state’s roadways. Maintaining a speed at or below the posted speed limit, ensuring at least two second’s following distance and looking down the roadway 12-15 seconds ahead of where you’re currently driving, are all ways to provide oneself more time to react to situations like road debris.

2017:
Statewide 657 road debris related crashes, 2 fatal road debris related crashes.

2018:
Statewide 693 road debris related crashes, 0 fatal road debris related crashes.

2019:
Statewide 693 road debris related crashes, 0 fatal road debris related crashes.

From 2010-2019: 6,384 crashes involving road debris statewide. 7 of those crashes involved a fatality.