HOLLADY, Utah – It has been the sight of at least three accidents were cars have left the roadway and hit homes, and a wreck on Thursday night is the latest such incident at the I-215 exit to 4500 South.
At the scene of Thursday’s accident Sheriff Jim Winder called the intersection “problematic.”
“What we have here is a car that has very significantly intruded into the home, almost collapsing the residence,” he said of Thursday’s accident.
Winder said this isn’t the first time such accidents have occurred.
“This is problematic intersection, and we have had on a not-infrequent basis that people misjudge this, this off-ramp here, and we've had a number of collisions with homes down this way,” he said.
Rick Gregor lives in the area, and he recalled a similar incident from several years ago.
“Three or four years ago there was an SUV that landed on the front corner of his house, and it was up on its side inside the house again,” Gregor said.
Gregor said an out of control dump truck damaged his own home about 8 years ago.
“Hit the trailer in front, came across the lawn, smashed into a boat that was here and took that into that garage,” he said.
Adan Carrillo of the Utah Department of Transportation said they are looking into the issue.
“Our traffic engineers are pulling crash data right now for this specific area to see how big of a concern this location has been in the past,” Carrillo said.
Carrillo said there are a variety of things they might do to improve the intersection.
“If we need to add extra signage, if there's any kind of lighting that needs to be added, if the striping needs to be retouched, whatever we need to do to increase the safety of these locations we'll do it,” he said.
Carrillo said it will be the nature of the accidents, rather than the total number, that will determine what, if any, extra safety measures will be put into place.
“Once we have those facts we'll certainly go back and look and see if there's anything else in addition to what we've already done out there,” he said.
Initial reports indicate that a medical issue may have been a factor in Thursday’s accident. UDOT officials said the intersection meets all standard safety requirements, and if medical issues are to blame then they may not take steps to improve or change the area.
