Cristian Gutierrez a 20 year old Wendover man was killed in the early hours of Monday morning in an horrific accident less than a mile east of town on Interstate 80.
According to Utah Highway Patrol Public Information officer Sgt. Todd Royce, Gutierrez was first struck sometime before 3 am either while walking on the shoulder of the Interstate or while trying to cross it. His body was thrown into the highway and reports suggest Gutierrez was struck again and again until a driver reported what they believed to be an animal carcass on the road.
When troopers arrived a short time later they found the original caller to be horribly mistaken. The body or what was left of it was that of a human being.
Gutierrez was so badly damaged that troopers could not even determine if the victim was a man or a woman.
Interstate 80 was shut down until well best sunrise as troopers and Tooele county Sheriff’s deputies searched up and down the highway for body parts.
He was finally identified by late Tuesday afternoon.
“I saw the carnage while driving to work, from the other side of the highway. One of the worst things I have ever seen in my life.” wrote Lisa Dabao on KUTV webpage. “I read on one site the body was hit multiple times (truckers use the highway, it was pitch dark out and they probably thought they had hit a large animal) and so badly authorities could not differentiate whether the body was male or female. I believe it. Horrible horrible horrible. God knows what this person was doing on the highway outside of a small casino town at 3AM. My condolences to this person’s family.”
Just north of the stretch of I-80 where Gutierrez was killed is a sometimes popular party site for Wendover youth too young to go bars or casinos. Those without cars often take a dangerous shortcut across I-80 and cut across the access roads into Wendover.
According to his Facebook page Gutierrez was born in Las Varas, Nayarit, Mexico but lived most of his short life in Wendover and worked at various local fast food restaurants.
