UHP identifies family members killed in I-15 crash that pulverized vehicle in Weber Co.
FARR WEST, Utah (KUTV) — The Utah Highway Patrol on Thursday morning identified the passengers killed when a semi-truck slammed into a stationary vehicle on I-15 that had its lights off in the early hours of May 24.
Authorities said the driver's grandparents, Tira Hanchor, 70, and Ekar Hanchor, 64, from Oklahoma, were in the back seat and died when the truck hit the vehicle. With them was the driver's 17-year-old cousin, whom UHP did not name due to her status as a minor.
The teen was visiting from the Marshall Islands.
UHP Lt. Justin Cheney previously told 2News that the extended family were in Utah to attend the high school graduation of the 19-year-old behind the wheel, who was critically injured along with his girlfriend, who was in the passenger seat.
Neither of the surviving victims' names were released Thursday.
The family was driving north on I-15 through Weber County at about 2:45 a.m. May 24 when their Nissan Altima struck a deer, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety.
It wasn't clear if the deer had disabled the car's electrical system or damaged it in any other way, but the investigation found that Altima had its lights off when the truck came over the hill.
A photo of what was left of the car showed a scene in which determining whether a deer left any damage could prove difficult.
The Altima had been totally destroyed, leaving behind few - if any - obvious indications of where any damage may have occurred before the semi-truck plowed into it.
Authorities stated the semi-truck driver was uninjured.
The highway was closed for several hours during investigation and clean-up, which wrapped up the morning commute began ramping up.
This article is being updated.
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