CEDAR CITY — An Enoch man was killed Sunday afternoon in a rear-end collision on Interstate 15 in Juab County near Nephi.
According to a statement issued by Utah Highway Patrol, at approximately 12:26 p.m., troopers received reports of an injury crash on southbound I-15 near mile marker 227.
“This area has an active construction zone and a previous crash had caused traffic to back up in the area,” the statement said.
Troopers arrived to find a silver Nissan with four occupants that had been rear-ended by a red Ford Edge with two occupants.
Joshua Dupass, 41, of Enoch, died at the scene, Utah Highway Patrol confirmed.
The other three occupants of the Nissan were transported to area hospitals for treatment of various injuries. Although they weren’t named by UHP, relatives identified them in public Facebook posts as Joshua’s wife Jessica Dupass and their sons Jaxten and Jayzen.
Jaxten, who is a senior at Canyon View High School in Cedar City, reportedly sustained a fractured neck, a concussion and scrapes and bruises.
His younger brother Jayzen was reportedly in critical condition at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City with a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, a broken eye socket, multiple facial fractures and a broken leg and pelvis.
Jessica Dupass reportedly sustained “a broken rib, spinal sprain, and a very broken HEART,” according to her sister-in-law’s post on Facebook, which added, “Her family is on a long road of recovery and grief.”
Utah Highway Patrol said the two occupants of the Ford sustained minor injuries.
The incident is being screened by the Juab County Attorney’s Office for possible charges against the Ford driver, Sgt. Cameron Roden of Utah Highway Patrol told Cedar City News on Monday.
The incident resulted in major traffic delays, with both lanes of southbound I-15 closed and traffic diverted onto state Route 28. The scene was cleared and both lanes were fully reopened by 4 p.m., UHP reported.
This report is based on preliminary statements from law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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