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Utah Man Dies In Wrong-Way Head-On Crash On I-80 Near Evanston

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Utah Man Dies In Wrong-Way Head-On Crash On I-80 Near Evanston


A Utah man driving the wrong way on Interstate 80 died over the weekend after colliding head-on with a semitrailer near Evanston.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol confirmed Monday that Duane Derrick, 40, of Logan, Utah, was driving a Chevy pickup the wrong way in the interstate at about 2 p.m. Saturday.

According to witnesses and evidence collected at the scene, Derrick was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes before the collision. 

He died at the scene, the WHP reports. The driver of the semitrailer was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.

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The Wyoming Highway Patrol was not available for additional comment at the time of publication.

‘How Did He Not See Him?’

Paige Sequeira of Ogden, Utah, shot a video of the aftermath of Saturday’s accident as she was traveling along I-80. 

Her reaction and what she captured on her phone paints a harrowing picture.

The Chevy pickup was beyond totaled. The entire vehicle was smashed into a tangled mess of metal, with wheels nearly twisted off their axles.

The semitrailer was hundreds of feet away, having driven off the highway and down an embankment toward a housing development. 

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Its forward engine and drive axle were nearly severed from the rest of the cab, a testament to the force of the impact.

The shoulder was covered with large debris from both vehicles.

Sequeria openly questioned, “How did he not see him?”

According to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, both vehicles “reacted and swerved to the north shoulder, colliding head-on.” 

Derrick was wearing his seat belt when the collision happened, WHP reports.

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Rough Start

Derrick’s death was the seventh fatality on Wyoming’s roadways so far in 2026. There were six fatalities at this point in 2025, and two in 2024.

Wyoming is already one of the deadliest states for trucking. 

Statistics compiled by the Truck Safety Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization, show Wyoming had seven fatalities per 100,000 population in the last year, topping the list as the deadliest state.

According to the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s crash data, 90% of commercial motor vehicle crashes on I-80 involve non-Wyoming resident drivers, and 78% of those crashes happened during inclement weather.

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Saturday’s crash was another on what truckers call “The Gauntlet,” the stretch of I-80 through Wyoming that runs between Evanston and Pine Bluffs. However, analyses like these are often skewed by Wyoming’s small population.

“In a rural state like Wyoming, with one of the smallest populations but some of the highest truck miles traveled per capita in the nation, even a small number of crashes can dramatically skew the results,” Kevin Hawley, president of the Wyoming Trucking Association, previously told Cowboy State Daily. “This makes Wyoming appear ‘deadlier’ than larger states with far higher crash totals.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.



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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon

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Utah man dies of injuries sustained in avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon


A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.

He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.

MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche

In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.

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“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.

A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas


CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.

LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.

Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.

The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.

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MORE | Murder-Suicide

Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.

10:33 a.m. — Call 1

After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.

Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.

“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”

11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3

As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.

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“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”

11:26 a.m. — Call 4

Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.

“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”

She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.

Police indicated officers were on the way.

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2:26 p.m. — Call 5

Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.

Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.

“They found a note on the door.”

2:35 p.m. — Call 6

Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.

“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”

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A dispatcher responded:

“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”

2:36 p.m. — Call 7

Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:

“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”

2:39 p.m. — Call 8

Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.

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“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”

He repeats the details he knows for the second time.

3:13 p.m. — Call 9

Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.

“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”

Dispatch responded:

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“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”

4:05 p.m. — Call 10

More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.

“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”

The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.

Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.

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The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.

5:23 p.m. — Call 11

Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.

“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”

She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.

Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference

Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.

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The investigation remains ongoing.

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing


AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”

Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.

“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.

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Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.

“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.

2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:

  • Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
  • Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
  • Does it support a ban from classrooms?

Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.

“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.

MORE | Utah State Legislature:

Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.

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“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.

“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.

The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.

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