Two hurt in motorcycle accident on I-15

A motorcyclist was unable to slow down for backed-up traffic Saturday afternoon on Interstate 15 in north Orem and sideswiped a stopped vehicle, throwing the driver and rider from the bike.

The male driver was not wearing a helmet and sustained a critical head injury. He was taken by a helicopter medical transport to the University of Utah Hospital. The 17-year-old female passenger received minor injuries and was transported by ambulance to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. No one in the stopped vehicle was hurt.

"We are speculating it's a father/daughter, but hasn't been confirmed yet," said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Plank. The family had not been notified and the identity of the man was unknown Saturday evening.

The dispatch call for the collision was received at 2:43 p.m. All northbound traffic at approximately 900 North had been stopped at the time because of a previous accident.

"The motorcyclist came up to the backed-up traffic way too quickly; he couldn't slow in time," Plank said. "There had been a minor injury accident on I-15. Nobody was transported. They had pulled off to the right hand side."

Ambulance and patrol cars were responding to the first incident when the second occurred. The freeway was closed for a short period of time after the motorcyclist accident was cleared.