fatal crash near mantua

​

July 10, 2018  •   Nelson Phillps   •   Staff Writer

A single-car crash Tuesday afternoon on US-89 just north of Mantua has taken the life of a Logan man.

According to Lieutenant Lee Perry of the Utah Highway Patrol, at approximately 5:56 p.m. Broc M. Riley, 26, was headed southbound on US-89 near mile marker 9 at a high rate of speed when his 2003 Mercury Sable swerved between two other slower vehicles, hit the cement divider and bounced back across both southbound lanes. Riley's car then went off on the right side of the road, jumping a drainage ditch and hitting the mountainside, where it rolled multiple times.

Although he was wearing a seat belt, Riley was partially ejected from the car, instantly sustaining fatal injuries.

"The driver appears to have either not been wearing the shoulder part of his seat belt, or came out of the shoulder part during the force of the crash," stated Perry.

The speed of the crash, estimated between 85 and 100 miles per hour, was enough to jump the Mercury Sable 50 feet into the trees on the mountainside, hitting with enough force to dislodge both the engine and transmission from the car, launching them further down the road.

Authorities say alcohol was found at the crash scene, and evidence indicates that cell phone use may also have been a factor in the crash.

The slow lane of US-89 was blocked for approximately two and a half hours while the crash was investigated and cleared.