PROVO, Utah - A man has died after a U-Haul he was driving crashed into a barrier on I-15 at the Center St. exit Friday morning.
He is the 107th person to die in a fatal accident in what the Utah Highway Patrol and Zero Fatalities call the"100 Deadliest Days of Summer."
"One fatal is way too many," UHP Sgt. Todd Royce said. "It's a 100+ victims of fatal crashes that are missing from a family. That's the way we look at it. It's a lot of grief; it's a lot of heartache and pain that just doesn't need to happen."
Officers have not released the victim's name and have not confirmed what led to the accident.
Troopers said they call the 100 days between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend the deadliest days because more people are on the roads and statistics show drivers are more careless during that period of time.
"In the winter there are more crashes but during the 100 deadliest days, the crashes are more severe," Sgt. Royce said.
Officials place the accidents in five categories:
- Drowsy driving
- Distracted driving
- Aggressive driving
- Impaired driving
- Driving without seat belts
"The ratio of higher fatalities is dramatically higher for those who don't wear a seat belt," Sgt. Royce said.
