Two people were killed in separate accidents on Interstate 80 near Park City on Friday night, according to Utah Highway Patrol officials.

The first incident happened around 5:30 p.m. on eastbound I-80 near mile marker 142, a few miles before the Kimball Junction exit.

Two SUVs slowed down to accommodate heavy traffic in the area, but the driver of a motorcycle behind the vehicles was unable to slow down in time. He then crashed into the back of the first SUV before bouncing onto the top of the second, said a UHP spokesperson.

The motorcyclist was transported to the University of Utah Hospital by ambulance, but medical personnel declared the man deceased during the drive into the Salt Lake Valley.

Law enforcement officials said they’re still working on identification and notifying the man’s next of kin, but they confirmed he was from Utah.

The second accident happened only a few hours later — just before midnight — on eastbound I-80 near mile marker 145 outside of Kimball Junction.

The driver of a vehicle pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate and tried to enter a construction zone where Utah Department of Transportation employees were working on routine road maintenance, according to a UHP spokesperson.

A pickup truck then struck the man as he attempted to cross the interstate on foot. First responders initiated CPR and lifesaving measures on scene before transporting him to the University of Utah Hospital by ambulance, but UHP officials said he died before reaching the medical facility.

The man, a 28-year-old from West Jordan, had other occupants in the car who said he intended to speak to the construction workers. A UHP spokesperson said the agency suspects the man was intoxicated at the time of the accident, but the investigation is ongoing and impairment has not yet been confirmed as a contributing factor.

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A semi-truck hauling oil tanks lost control on Interstate 80 after another vehicle hit an elk early Thursday morning, sending one person to the hospital with critical injuries and shutting down the highway for multiple hours.

Utah Highway Patrol officials said the accident happened around 5 a.m. between the Kimball Junction and U.S. 40 interchange. A driver in a Buick SUV collided with an elk, pulled over and parked on the right shoulder. A second vehicle hit the elk’s carcass and stopped on the left shoulder.

A third car then swerved to avoid the carcass and the second car, but the maneuver disabled the vehicle and caused it to partially block two lanes of traffic.

The semi-truck attempted to swerve to avoid hitting the third car, but the pup trailer attached to the back struck the vehicle. The trailer overturned and was dragged down the interstate before the truck came to a stop on the right shoulder.

The Park City Fire District responded to assist Utah Highway Patrol troopers with the oil leaking from the trailer.

The driver of the Buick was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the third vehicle was transported to the hospital with critical injuries, but Utah Highway Patrol officials said the driver was stable around 11:45 a.m.

The westbound lanes of I-80 were still closed by the time morning rush hour hit and remained closed for several hours. Traffic was diverted to U.S. 40, and drivers were encouraged to use alternate routes because of heavy delays in the area.

All westbound lanes reopened around noon.

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A car crashed into the Park City Visitor Center after the driver mixed up his brake and gas pedals, according to Park City Fire District officials.

The accident happened just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Fire Marshal Mike Owens said there was “significant superficial damage” to the building, but the structure itself is undamaged and there is no danger of collapse.

“The part of the building that was damaged was mainly the storefront. It’s glass and aluminum tubing,” Owens explained. “That will pretty much have to be replaced, and then there was some damage to the walls and the supporting structures for the walls, but again, not to the structure of the building.”

Owens did not have an estimate on the cost of the damage.

He said there were no injuries and the car has been removed from the scene.

The driver was wearing a seatbelt.

“We’re glad that no one was hurt, and I just want to reinforce the importance of being aware of what you’re doing as you’re driving,” Owens added. “Even when you’re pulling into a parking lot, you still have to pay close attention because things can go wrong. Luckily, no one was hurt in this case, and we’re happy for that, but please remember to drive safe, even when you’re coming to a stop.”

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A car hit and killed a woman crossing the street in front of Park City High School on Thursday morning. The Utah Highway Patrol identified the victim as 55-year-old Catalina Alvarado Lopez from Park City on Friday morning.

Around 7:15 a.m., Lopez was walking in an area without a marked crosswalk, according to a Utah Highway Patrol spokesperson. A pickup truck traveling eastbound on Kearns Boulevard struck her, and passersby on scene performed CPR prior to the arrival of the Park City Fire District.

Officials with the Park City Fire District then transported Lopez to a landing zone off S.R. 224 in the Bear Hollow area. A medical helicopter flew the woman, who was in critical condition, to a hospital in Salt Lake City.

She later died from her injuries.

A GoFundMe page that had raised $49,300 from 622 contributors by Friday morning described her as a mother who had raised her now-adult children in Park City since moving here two decades ago from Michoacán, Mexico.

“A selfless, hardworking woman, Catalina dedicated her life to her children,” the page organized by Anna Frauchou, a board member of the Park City Community Foundation, said. “She made countless sacrifices, always putting their needs above her own. Her unwavering love and commitment to her family were evident in everything she did. She was a devoted member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, attending weekly services, where she found comfort and strength in her faith.”

The page said she was “drawn to the town’s four distinct seasons and its warm, tight-knit community — qualities that made her feel at home, even far from her native country.”

The driver of the pickup truck was uninjured and remained on scene. They are cooperating with the investigation, which is ongoing, said the Utah Highway Patrol spokesperson.

The Park City School District said multiple high school students witnessed the accident.

“We recognize the emotional impact this may have on them, as well as our broader school community,” the district said in an email statement to families. “We want to assure you that the safety and well-being of our students and staff are our highest priorities. Mental health coaches are available on-site at Park City High School and throughout the district to support any student or staff member who may need assistance processing this difficult event.”

Kearns Boulevard experienced heavy delays as police and medical personnel responded to the accident. The school district said any students arriving late to Treasure Mountain Junior High, McPolin Elementary and Park City High School will have their tardiness excused.

“We extend our thoughts to everyone involved in this incident and ask for your continued patience and cooperation with traffic delays in the area,” the district said.

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David Szekely’s life became much more difficult right before he turned 7 years old.

While riding his bike in his hometown of Weston, Massachusetts, he was hit by a car.

David was rushed to the hospital, where his family was told he had a broken femur and a possible concussion. But it was his abdominal injuries that changed his life’s course.

“They performed abdominal surgery five days after the accident,” said Elizabeth Joy Szekely, David’s mother. “It didn’t go so well. He went into cardiac arrest and his brain became deprived of oxygen.”

In a coma, David was transferred to a hospital in Boston. The staff there didn’t have much faith he would pull through. Then, something short of a miracle happened.

“When they disconnected him from the life support, he went on breathing,” Elizabeth said. “After that, we took it day by day.”

On the path to a slow recovery, David was unable to walk, or see, when his family was given permission to take him home.

“He rode in the back of the station wagon on a bean bag, because he was totally rigid,” Elizabeth said.

David’s antidote to life’s struggles

Although it took some time and a lot of care from his family, David, now 44, is more active than most people. In fact, he now thinks of himself as an athlete. From spelunking in the Cheddar Gorge caves in England — his mother’s native country — to boxing at a gym near his house in Miami, David doesn’t go one day without exercise.

His secret, he said, is the balance and strength he found through skiing, which is something he comes to Park City to do every year.

“Skiing is all about weight transfer and balance,” David said. “When you can transfer your weight on the hill, since it’s pulling you down, it keeps you upright. My balance improved drastically as I was skiing.”

David hit the slopes once he was able to walk again, which doctors said wouldn’t happen.

“First, he learned to crawl,” Elizabeth said. “Then, I put his feet on each of my feet and I would walk him.”

David’s first ski venture after his accident was at Nashoba Valley, the ski area near his childhood home.

“We met a ski instructor who took David under his wing and taught him how to ski,” Elizabeth said. “Rather than teaching David the traditional way, he just worked with what David could do.”

The feeling David experienced when strapped into a pair of skis and sliding down a mountain was a revelation, his mother said.

“David could move again much more freely, because the hill did all the work,” she said.

It gave him more than movement

Not only did skiing give David the freedom to move with ease. It also helped his self-esteem.

Because of the challenges he faced after surgery, David had trouble fitting in with kids at school, who could see his physical limitations. But when he was bundled in snow clothes and swooshing down slopes, he looked like any other skier.

“It gave me a sense that I was becoming more and more like the other children and I wasn’t thought of as different,” David said. “It helped me adapt more into mainstream society.”

“Once you’re in your ski clothes, it hides a lot of deficits,” Elizabeth added. “When you have on your ski coat, helmet and skis, you look like everybody else. You don’t look different. You fit right in.”

Discovering Park City

David was skiing the East Coast’s steeper mountains when he was a teenager. And even though he was an experienced skier by the time he came to Park City, David had more to learn, he said.

He was living in Santa Barbara, California, when he decided to try the West’s mountains. It was 1999, and David made his way to Park City, where he met another ski instructor who became his mentor.

“He was from somewhere in Europe,” David said. “He taught me how to use my big toe, which really taught me how to shift my weight from side to side.”

David fell in love with Park City. He found the town’s residents friendly and accommodating, and wanted to share his discovery with his mother, who visited the following winter.

Since then, Elizabeth and David — thanks to a trust fund set up on David’s behalf — have been able to spend every winter here.

Still setting goals

David has set and made several goals since he was hit by a car. He couldn’t walk in 1979. Now he skis black diamond slopes. Teachers told him he would not make it through the public education system. He has since graduated from college. And though his vision is impaired, it has recovered enough so he can read all his favorite novels.

While David has accomplished almost everything he was told he could never do, he’s not ready to settle. He has more hurdles to overcome, such as skiing 3 million vertical feet while he is in Park City this winter.

He said he’s pretty sure he’s going to make the goal after more than 60 days of skiing, since he religiously hits the slopes by 8:30 a.m. almost every day.

“Some days I ski from 9 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon without stopping,” he said.

David added he’s already conquered one of his goals, which was to ski 60,000 vertical feet in one day.

“The lift attendants held the lift open that day for an extra five to ten minutes so I could get two more runs,” he said.

Elizabeth said she couldn’t be more proud of her son, who is proof that the willpower to overcome can go a long way.

“All of these accomplishments are from somebody who was never supposed to blink,” she said.

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