The Medical TRAX line doesn’t officially open until Sept. 29, but there has already been an accident.
On Tuesday at about 10:45 a.m., a Nissan XTerra made an illegal left turn at the intersection of 1500 East and South Campus Drive and was hit by a TRAX train, according to Utah Transit Authority officials.
No one was injured.
The driver was in the lane next to the train, which was on a test run. Testing on the new line began Aug. 30.
The driver was in a west-bound lane and made the turn where there was a no left-hand turn sign, said Brandon Bott, spokesman for UTA.
“It’s clearly marked,” he said.
The train was heading west on South Campus Drive, said Marti Money, spokeswoman for UTA.
Although U officials and UTA representatives say that the driver was a U student, The Chronicle was not able to confirm it by deadline.
The supervisor of the train-according to Money-said that the driver spotted a parking space on the south side of the road.
“When the light turned green, the driver tried to beat the train off the line and made an illegal left hand turn, and that resulted in a collision,” Money said.
The Salt Lake City Fire Department checked the scene and let the driver go, Money said.
Neither the driver of the Nissan nor the operator or the supervisor of the train were injured, she said.
The car was “able to be driven off,” Money said.
The collision could have resulted in a much more serious accident, but didn’t because the train was going at a very low speed.
The incident was another reminder of the importance of following safety precautions, officials said.
“UTA strongly encourages operators of vehicles, as well as pedestrians, to be very alert…to obey all of the traffic laws [and] safety rules,” Money said, specifically paying attention to turn lane restrictions and areas like the roundabout, with which many students are still unfamiliar.
She also says that pedestrians must never jaywalk and risk serious injury.
Tuesday morning’s crash was “unfortunate,” Money said. “Fortunately, it wasn’t any worse,” she said.