A child was seriously injured Tuesday night after a driver crossed into oncoming lanes at 700 East and 8600 South in Sandy, police said. The crash, reported at about 9 p.m., left the intersection shut down for hours as officers worked the scene and investigators looked into whether the driver was impaired.
A man in his 40s was driving south on 700 East when he crossed into oncoming lanes and struck a northbound vehicle, according to Sandy police spokesman Sgt. Mike Olsen, as reported by KJZZ. The child who was seriously hurt had been riding in the northbound vehicle. That child was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition, the outlet reported.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation, but police suspected impairment, according to the same report. No further detail on the nature of that suspicion, any test results, or potential charges was available.
Intersection Shut Down for Hours
The crash forced a lengthy closure of 700 East, also known as SR-71, in both directions. UDOT said all northbound and southbound lanes of the road were closed because of the crash, according to ABC4. That outlet reported an initial estimate that the road would remain closed until 1:51 a.m., though officials cautioned the estimate could change.
That timeline differs from what police told the other outlet covering the crash. Police were working to reopen the intersection within about an hour, per the KJZZ report, a notably shorter window than the overnight closure UDOT initially projected. It is not clear from available reporting when the road actually reopened to traffic.
Not the First Serious Crash at This Intersection
The stretch of 700 East near 8600 South has seen serious collisions before. A motorcyclist was killed in a crash with a car near that same intersection in September 2025, according to a report from KUTV citing Sandy police. Details on that earlier crash remain limited.
Sandy police have not released additional information about Tuesday's crash, including the identity of the driver or whether any charges have been filed. The investigation into the cause of the collision was still ongoing as of the latest available reporting.
