Utah Highway Patrol reports 49 crashes overnight

Salt Lake City, Utah – According to Utah Highway Patrol (UHP), they’ve responded to 49 crashes in just the last 12 hours. Over 25% of the crashes took place in the Salt Lake Valley, officials report.

Thankfully, most incidents have not involved serious injuries, but troopers are warning drivers to keep an eye out for road hazards.

“Troopers are responding to several areas of standing water in Salt Lake Co this morning,” says UHP. “Please remember to reduce speeds, increase following distance, give yourself plenty of time and look beyond your hood for road hazards.”

With overnight storms hitting Utah, due to wintry conditions, road closures have been activated along several highways.

Utahns have been driving recklessly this year, with speeding, road rage, and distracted driving as the leading causes of recent crashes, UHP said.

“Obviously when you’re going that fast, any kind of correcting or input you put into the vehicle is magnified, any crash you get into is going to be magnified,” says Trooper Nicholas Hansen with UHP.