A 45-year-old Midway man is dead after the Volkswagen Jetta he was driving was struck by a Jeep Cherokee in Parleys Canyon. The traffic crash occurred near Parleys Summit on Saturday at about 8:36 p.m.
Bruce McGowan died at the scene of the accident. McGowan was traveling eastbound when another driver traveling westbound crossed the median and struck McGowan.
The driver of the Jeep Cherokee was a Salt Lake County man in his 20s. He suffered minor injuries.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, according to Utah Highway Patrol troopers. Part of the freeway was closed and some eastbound traffic was diverted off Interstate 80 at the East Canyon exit as troopers investigated the crash.
McGowan worked as a firefighter with Unified Fire Authority in Salt Lake County. He was stationed at the firehouse in Magna.
"[McGowan] was actually returning from work that night from a partial shift," said Brad Taylor, a spokesman for Unified Fire Authority. "He was an excellent firefighter."