A 50-year-old woman is in critical condition after a traffic incident occurred on California Avenue in Salt Lake City early Tuesday morning. The Salt Lake City Police Department reports that the crash, involving a pedestrian and a silver sedan, happened just after 5:30 a.m. near the 4980 West intersection, as confirmed by KSLTV.
The driver, who allegedly left the scene initially, returned shortly to call 911 and is now cooperating with the investigation, according to officials. ABC4's coverage of the event points out that the authorities arrived to find the victim seriously injured on the ground. The early hour of the incident is expected to have significantly affected the morning commute, with delays anticipated to ripple through the rush hour period.
As traffic was beginning to build up during the morning hours, the Salt Lake City Police Department warned commuters to expect delays in the area, ABC4 had reported. This comes after police responded quickly and first responders transported the victim to the hospital with what were described as potentially life-threatening injuries.
Details surrounding the circumstances of the crash remain scarce. "There’s no crosswalks here, so we don’t know what exactly led up to that crash. That’s why we have the major crash team on scene," Public Information Officer Yaier Javaid said, as per KSLTV. The investigation by the Salt Lake City Police Department is ongoing, and as relayed by KSL Newsradio, no arrests have been made nor citations issued so far.
