‘Avoid driving,’ Utah Highway Patrol advises after 270 crashes during Monday storm

A blinding snowstorm engulfing Utah had state troopers scrambling Monday to deal with at least 270 crashes, including one fatal wreck, KUTV reported.

“If you can avoid driving for the moment, please do,” Utah Highway Patrol troopers implored residents on Twitter.

Two highway patrol troopers narrowly escaped injury when they were hit by other vehicles while assisting at earlier crashes, the agency wrote. One trooper was hit twice.

A tractor-trailer driver died when another big rig struck him while he was out of his cab rebalancing his load on the side of Interstate 15 near Riverdale just before 3 p.m., The Standard-Examiner reported. The second big-rig driver had swerved to avoid another crash.

“Definitely slow down,” said Trooper Riley Rugg, KSTU reported. “They should already be slowing down in this weather, but if they can slow down and just give us a lane. Move over, give us some room so there is some room for error in case they hit a patch of ice or something.”

The National Weather Service reported that parts of Utah received up to 11 inches of snow Monday, with more on the way through Thanksgiving week, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Storms also are headed to the West Coast and Midwest this week, CNN reports.

This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 7:55 AM with the headline "‘Avoid driving,’ Utah Highway Patrol advises after 270 crashes during Monday storm."