Friends and family members are mourning the passing of 28-year-old Briana Blackwelder after she was ejected from her vehicle in a rollover on I-15 Saturday afternoon.
A green Ford Explorer was traveling southbound on I-15 near Santaquin when it veered intot he median and rolled, ejecting its two occupants, neither of whom was wearing a seatbelt.
The driver, Ian Blackwelder, 19, from Laguna Nigel, Calif., and his sister, Briana Blackwelder, 28, from Salt Lake City, were both sent to the Mountain View Hospital via ambulance.
Briana Blackwelder sustained head injuries and succumbed to those injuries while at the hospital. Ian Blackwelder is conscious but in critical condition.
The cause of the accident is under investigation, but officers noted that it was raining at the time of the accident and roads were wet.
As news of Briana's passing spread, friends and family members fondly remember her influence. Briana was a midwife who helped mothers during and after their pregnancies.
Briana kept a blog of her experiences while working as a midwife, something she says was both difficult and rewarding.
"It's like most things in life that are difficult and rewarding at the same time. Lots of midwives feel like their work is a calling," she wrote.
Her close friend and colleague says that Briana was a kind and intelligent woman.
"She was a woman of great dignity and intution and grace," said Kristi Ridd-Young. "And a midwife who had never had children of her own yet and yet was one of the most amazing midwives I know."
The two women met at The Midwives College of Utah ten years ago. Briana then went to other countries, including Guatemala, to teach midwifery. The Midwives College of Utah plans to have a scholarship in Briana's memory.
