Midvale, UT — March 22, 2025, one person was killed and another was injured in a truck accident at about 12:45 p.m. on Fort Union Boulevard.

Authorities said an SUV was headed west when its driver lost control after changing lanes to avoid another vehicle. It crashed into the back of a parked semi-truck.

The driver of the SUV, a 17-year-old Hillcrest High School student, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities. The 19-year-old man who was a passenger in the SUV was hospitalized with critical injuries.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Salt Lake County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary

Crashes where a moving vehicle strikes a parked semi-truck raise serious questions about visibility, road design and whether the truck was parked in a safe and legal location. In this case, reports indicate that a 17-year-old SUV driver lost control while trying to avoid another vehicle and crashed into the rear of a parked semi-truck on Fort Union Boulevard, resulting in a fatality and a serious injury. A full investigation should determine whether this was due to driver inexperience, improper parking or other contributing factors.

One of the first issues investigators should examine is where and how the semi-truck was parked. Was it legally stopped in a designated parking area, or was it partially obstructing a travel lane or shoulder? Large commercial trucks are required to follow strict rules about where they can park — especially in areas with high traffic volume or narrow lanes — because their size and weight make them a significant hazard if improperly positioned.

Another important factor is visibility. Even in the middle of the day, a parked truck can be difficult to see, especially if it's near a curve, driveway or another obstruction. Did the semi have its hazard lights on or reflective markers in place? If not, or if the truck was hidden by visual obstructions, that could have made it harder for the SUV driver to recognize and avoid it.

The SUV driver’s decision to change lanes to avoid another vehicle also deserves scrutiny. Was the driver reacting to a real danger or overcorrecting due to inexperience? Teen drivers often struggle with sudden judgment calls, and if the surrounding traffic created a no-win scenario, the investigation should explore whether this was avoidable or the result of multiple converging risks.

At this stage, there isn’t enough public information to say definitively what caused this crash. But if investigators focus only on the fact that the SUV hit a parked truck without looking into why the truck was there, how visible it was and what the SUV driver was reacting to, they risk overlooking critical details. A thorough investigation should explore all of these factors to determine what went wrong in this instance.