Utah couple killed in wrong way crash along Interstate 15 in Salt Lake City by wrong way driver over Thanksgiving weekend while traveling to see relatives.
A young Utah couple were killed in a fiery wrong way crash during the early morning hours of Saturday while traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Leo Shepherd, 18, and Anneka Wilson, 17, died on Saturday, Nov. 29, after they were struck head-on by another vehicle that was allegedly driving the wrong way on Interstate 15 in Salt Lake City according to a press release from the Utah Department of Public Safety.
At the time of the tragedy, Shepherd of Payson and Wilson of Springville, were en route to Idaho to spend Thanksgiving weekend with Wilson’s aunt only to be struck by a wrong way driver just on 2 a.m as they exited from the 600 South off-ramp southbound into northbound traffic.
Utah couple killed by wrong way driver suspected of DUI (who survived with minor injuries)
According to the release, the couple’s black Nissan Rogue vehicle was ‘violently’ struck by a gray Audi which has allegedly entered the interstate incorrectly.
Jose Jimenez, 21, the wrong way driver, sustained minor injuries and was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, officials said.
The collision caused the Nissan Rogue to become ‘fully engulfed in flames,’ with Shepherd and Wilson pronounced dead on the scene according to the press release.
At the time of the collision, Jimenez was driving with a learner’s permit, Fox 13 reported. The errant driver is now facing charges of automobile homicide, driving under the influence and wrong way driving, as well as violation of his learner’s permit.
Court documents state that Jimenez said he did not feel safe to be driving at the time of the incident.
One of the worst collisions seen by Utah Highway Patrol in over a decade
Utah Highway Patrol Lieutenant Brian Peterson described the wrong way collision as one of the worst he had witnessed for the ten years he had worked as a state trooper.
Shepherd’s relative, Shantell Shepherd Hansen, remembered the couple with a tribute on Facebook, writing, ‘There are no words big enough for this kind of heartbreak. Two souls who brought so much light, love, and laughter into our lives were taken far too soon.”
‘Leo had a heart of gold and loved fiercely. Anneka was pure warmth, beauty, and kindness. It brings me the smallest bit of comfort knowing they left this world side by side, the same way they lived.’
A GoFundMe page has been created to support the grieving families.
