A fatal crash shut down Redwood Road in both directions near 1050 South in Salt Lake City on Monday evening, with police warning drivers to steer clear of the area as investigators worked the scene. The closure was expected to last several hours, snarling one of the valley's busiest north-south corridors just as evening commute traffic was winding down.
The Salt Lake City Police Department was investigating the crash, according to KUTV, though additional details about the collision had not been released as of Monday night. It remains unclear how many vehicles were involved, what caused the crash, or the identity of the person or people killed.
A Corridor With a Troubled History
The stretch of Redwood Road near 1050 South is not unfamiliar with tragedy. In March 2022, a northbound passenger van crossed into oncoming traffic and slammed head-on into a Salt Lake City garbage truck less than two blocks from Monday's crash site, killing two men in the van and sending the truck driver to the hospital, per KSL.com. That crash similarly forced a lengthy full closure of Redwood Road.
Data compiled from Salt Lake City Police Department reports show that three of the city's 15 traffic deaths in 2025 occurred along Redwood Road, making it the deadliest street in Salt Lake County that year, according to KPCW. Safety advocates cited in that reporting note that Redwood Road's multi-lane design tends to encourage vehicle speeds well above posted limits. Just three months ago, a multi-vehicle wreck on Redwood Road in Taylorsville injured eight people and hospitalized five, as Hoodline previously reported.
Why Closing Redwood Road Ripples Across the Valley
Designated as State Route 68 across its 70.6-mile span through the Wasatch Front, Redwood Road is one of the region's most heavily congested surface-street arterials, according to state transportation data. The road functions as a primary north-south alternative to Interstate 15 across Salt Lake, Davis, and Utah counties, meaning a full shutdown like Monday's tends to push traffic onto neighboring residential streets for the duration.
Salt Lake County accounts for 26 percent of all traffic fatalities statewide, the largest share of any county in Utah, according to the Utah Highway Safety Office. State data shows that failing to keep in the proper lane and failing to yield right-of-way rank as the top two contributing factors in fatal Utah crashes. Monday's collision also falls within Utah's annual “100 Deadliest Days,” the stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day when fatal crashes historically spike statewide due to increased summer travel, distracted driving, and higher speeds, per TownLift.
A Deadly Week on Salt Lake City Roads
Monday's crash comes less than a week after two people were killed in a collision on Interstate 215 near 2100 North, which forced a multi-hour closure of all southbound lanes as state troopers processed the scene, as Hoodline reported days earlier. Statewide, Utah recorded 264 traffic deaths in 2025, a 5 percent drop from 2024 and the lowest annual toll since 2019, according to state transportation and public safety data. Preliminary numbers from Utah's Zero Fatalities program show 148 traffic deaths recorded statewide between January 1 and August 27, 2026, down from 169 during the same period in 2025.
Salt Lake City operates under an official Vision Zero strategy, aiming to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries on city streets by 2035 through its Safe Streets Action Plan, which directs engineering resources toward high-risk arterial corridors. Under Utah Code § 41-6a-401.3, drivers involved in any crash resulting in injury or death are legally required to stop, remain at the scene, render reasonable assistance, and provide identification to investigating officers; fleeing the scene of a fatal or serious-injury crash is a felony under state law. Salt Lake City police had not released the cause of Monday's crash, the vehicles involved, or the identities of those killed as the investigation continued.
