Ian Blackwelder Expected to Make Full Recovery, Officials Say

Ian Blackwelder, the graduate who was behind the wheel in a t that killed his sister Saturday, is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries, authorities said today.

Blackwelder, 19, remains in intensive care. He and his 28-year-old sibling, Briana, were thrown from their green Ford Explorer after it veered into a median and rolled over along southbound I-15 near Santaquin, UT, according to Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Plank. 

Neither appeared to have been wearing a seat belt, Plank said.

Briana, who lived in Salt Lake City, sustained head injuries and died at Mountain View Hospital in Payson, UT. Ian, a Laguna Niguel resident, is a student at Brigham Young University.

The cause of the accident is under investigation. Authorities said it was raining at the time. It was also the second rollover fatality near that spot in a three-day span. The first occurred about a mile away Thursday. It was a two-car crash in which one of the vehicles rolled over and killed longtime broadcaster Gaylen B. Young, 59, of Salt Lake City.

Plank said he spoke with the section commander of that area and was told bad crashes aren't a regular occurrence. "I guess there is somewhat of a hill and people get going pretty fast," Plank added, but "there aren't any issues with curves or anything like that."

Although I-15 can get busy--it's the only north-south highway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas--traffic is generally light near Santaquin, he said: "Santaquin is a very rural area: farms and open spaces. It's a two-lane highway both directions with a median down the middle."  

He added: "Typically all crashes have to do with some type of inattentiveness or speed.  I don't believe there is anything to the road or surroundings that would have contributed to the crash."

Improper seat belt use was a factor in 40 percent of the fatalities on Utah roads in 2010, according to the website for Zero Fatality, a Utah highway safety program.