Salt Lake police investigate a car and TRAX train collision on West Temple and 700 South in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. A passenger died after the driver of a ride-share vehicle they were traveling in ran a red light and “clipped” a TRAX light-rail train, Utah Transit Authority officials said.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
A passenger died after the driver of a ride-share vehicle they were traveling in ran a red light and was “clipped” by a TRAX light-rail train Wednesday morning, Utah Transit Authority police said.
Emergency crews responded to a report of a crash at the intersection of West Temple and 700 South shortly before 8 a.m.
A passenger car, an Uber ride-share carrying one person, was traveling about 40 mph on West Temple when it ran a red light at the intersection and was struck by a blue line TRAX train traveling east on 700 South, said UTA Police Capt. Jason Petersen.
“The car hit the side of the train,” added UTA spokesman James Larson. “Community members ran out to see if the (passenger) was OK. They weren’t breathing or responding, so they tried to do CPR on the (passenger) and they ended up passing away.”
The name and age of the passenger were not immediately released, though police said he was an adult male. Larson said the driver of the car, also an adult male, was not injured in the crash. Nobody on the train was injured.
The crash remains under investigation. Salt Lake police are joining UTA police in the investigation.
The driver of the car is cooperating with investigators, police said. KSL.com reached out to Uber for comment about the crash but has not received a response.
The intersection is expected to be closed for several hours as police investigate the crash, Larson said. Since all three TRAX lines use the section of rail where the crash happened, he added that UTA has enacted a bus bridge from its Ballpark and Courthouse stations to connect riders going in either direction during the closure.
Wednesday’s crash happened as UTA observes what it calls “Utah Rail Safety Week,” a week dedicated to reminding Utahns to use caution around TRAX and FrontRunner tracks. UTA executive director Jay Fox pointed out that other vehicles can stop much more quickly than trains.
And although the TRAX train was not traveling fast, Petersen added that it is large enough to cause a lot of damage.
“When you get in an accident with a train, the train usually wins,” he said. “Even a low-speed train can cause a lot of damage.”
This story will be updated.
Contributing: Karah Brackin, KSL-TV
Salt Lake police investigate a car and TRAX train collision on West Temple and 700 South in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Salt Lake police investigate a car and TRAX train collision on West Temple and 700 South in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Salt Lake police investigate a car and TRAX train collision on West Temple and 700 South in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
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