Two children killed in Provo Canyon accident identified
Police have identified two children killed in a traffic collision in Provo Canyon on U.S. Route 189 Sunday evening. Daniel Lopez, 7, and Jennifer Lopez, 8, were pronounced dead at the scene after the car they were riding in was struck by a pickup truck pulling a camper trailer, said UHP spokesman Cameron Roden.
The accident left the children’s mother, Maria Ruiz, 33, in serious condition at the University of Utah Medical Center, Roden said. Two 13-year-old male passengers in the car are in fair condition. One is at Primary Children’s Hospital and the other is at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
Ruiz, the driver of a red Pontiac passenger car, was attempting to turn left out of Vivian Park recreation area onto 189 and didn’t see an oncoming eastbound white pickup truck pulling a camper trailer at about 5:37 p.m., said UHP Sgt. Brett Christensen.. The Pontiac, which contained Ruiz, and the four children, was literally ripped in half when it failed to yield to the truck and was T-boned on the left side.
The two children pronounced dead at the scene were ejected from the passenger car.
The children’s mother was taken to the University of Utah Medical Center.
“She was conscious at the scene,” he said of the Pontiac’s driver. “She was very upset. I could see her crying.”
The white pickup truck rolled at least once from the force of the crash and came to a rest right-side up on the outside westbound lane of 189 with the camper trailer at least another 100 feet further east. The driver of the truck, a man believed to be in his 30s, sustained minor injuries and was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. Two child passengers in the truck were unharmed, Christensen said.
At least one or two vehicles following the Pontiac out of South Fork Drive from Vivian Park contained the woman’s family members who witnessed the accident including two sisters, one of whom is 7 months pregnant, he said. The two women also received medical treatment at the scene and were transported by ground to local medical facilities.
Police investigators were still checking to see which of the two vehicles’ occupants were wearing seat belts. Christensen said there was nothing that led police to believe initially that alcohol or drugs played a role in the wreck.
“It doesn’t appear that the driver (of the white) truck was traveling in excess of the speed limit,” he said. “Something this severe and this large is going to take a while to sort through.”
Utah County Sheriff’s Office deputies were first on the scene and were assisted by UHP troopers, Orem police and fire and other emergency-response agencies.
Two residents of Vivian Park at the scene of Sunday’s wreck said they’ve seen many traffic accidents on this stretch of 189 and say the intersection, with no traffic light or other extra safety measures, is inherently dangerous.
“We live here and it’s going to continue to happen if they don’t do something … It’s a zoo on the weekends,” said Debi Nicholls.
With the high volume of visitors and individuals using Vivian Park as an access point to raft the Provo River, resident Don Sessions said the situation “is only going to get worse in the summer.”
Nicholls said a river rafting company is currently building an office and larger parking lot slightly east of the park that will only add to the area’s congestion.
“Between the bears and all the activity of people coming here, I’d rather have the bears,” Nicholls said.
With the Memorial Day holiday just a week away and lots of Utah residents taking to roads this summer, Christensen urged motorists to be more patients, obey the speed limits, wear seat belts and allow plenty of travel time to get to destinations.
“Don’t be in such a hurry that you cause an accident,” he said.
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