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WOODS CROSS — A three-car crash left one man dead and halted traffic on northbound I-15 Friday morning.

Investigators are trying to determine why a driver swerved across all northbound lanes and crashed into the inside barrier about 5:40 a.m. Friday near 2600 South, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Nathan Powell said.

The vehicle was disabled in the crash and stopped in the carpool lane with its lights off.

A second car swerved to miss the disabled vehicle, clipping it, and then stopped with its hazard lights flashing, Powell said.

"(She) realized that if she couldn't see the car because there were no lights on it, then others couldn't. She did a U-turn and pulled up next to it on the shoulder and put her hazards on," Powell said.

A third vehicle believed to be traveling at freeway speed then crashed into the disabled vehicle, hitting the driver's door, according to Powell.

Powell said all three crashes happened within a few minutes.

All northbound traffic was stopped as a medical helicopter landed at the scene. The man in the first vehicle, 33-year-old Brady Shepherd, of Taylorsville, was critically injured and died before he could be transported.

The driver of the third vehicle was taken to an area hospital by ambulance with minor injuries, Powell said.

Powell said the woman in the second vehicle was able to safely position herself on the road's shoulder in an attempt to warn other drivers. Otherwise, the UHP would warn against a similar move.

The highway patrol will close some freeway lanes in the area between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday to further investigate the crash.

"We wanted to get the lanes open this morning," Powell said Friday. "It will have less of an impact on an early Saturday morning. Just be patient and you'll get right through any delays, if there are any."

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