DPS NEWS

Fatal Crash on U.S. 40 MM 12

DPS Incident Notification 7075 (Crash – Fatal / Initial Information / Sent: 05-15-2019  12:58)

Section: 7 // District: 0

Date: 05-15-2019

Time: 10:32

Location: SR-40 Four miles north of Heber City

Mile Post: 12

Travel Direction: East

Inv. Agency: Utah Highway Patrol

Initial Description: 
        At approximately 1030 hours, a red Honda Civic was eastbound on US-40 near milepost 12 coming down a grade towards Heber City.  It came upon a slower moving semi truck with a single tank trailer in the right lane.  For an unknown reason, the driver of the Civic failed to brake or take evasive action and impacted the rear of the semi trailer.  It then swerved off the road to the left and rolled into the median.  The driver of the Civic, who was also the lone occupant, was pronounced deceased shortly afterwards at the Heber Valley Medical Center.  The driver of the semi truck was uninjured.  The tank trailer was loaded with diesel fuel and DID NOT leak.  The left lane of US-40 eastbound has been closed since the crash.  There have been intermittent complete closures of the eastbound lanes for brief intervals.  We are investigating speed, distraction and failure to wear a seat belt as the causes of the crash and resulting injuries.

The deceased driver’s name is Erick E Villegas-Rosales, he is 28 years old with a last recorded address in West Valley City, UT.