SR-201
The main route east toward West Valley City, Salt Lake City and I-215. At the Magna end, cross streets still meet the highway at intersections, so a driver entering from 8400 West or 7200 West faces fast traffic that has not slowed down.
SALT LAKE COUNTY
Magna Car Accident Lawyer
Injured in a crash on SR-201, 8400 West, 3500 South or Magna Main Street? Request a free case review, and pay no attorney fees unless we win.
Magna Roads Behind Serious Crashes
Magna sits at the west edge of the valley beside the Oquirrh Mountains and Rio Tinto Kennecott's operations. Most residents leave town on a handful of state highways, often around shift changes, and those same roads carry the trucks and contractors that serve the industrial area. The full street-by-street ranking for Magna is on our Magna’s most dangerous roads page.
8400 West (SR-111)
Magna's north-south highway, linking SR-201 with the south end of the valley. Long distances between signals and high speeds make pull-out and left-turn crashes severe, and darkness makes people on foot hard to see.
3500 South (SR-171)
Brings traffic into Magna from West Valley City. Backups at signals, cars turning into businesses and buses stopping at the curb make rear-end and turning crashes the everyday pattern.
Magna Main Street
The historic downtown, where angled parking, people on foot and slower traffic meet drivers cutting through. Cars backing out of spaces and crosswalk collisions are the common problems.
Industrial and work-vehicle traffic
Commercial trucks, contractor pickups and delivery vehicles serving the Kennecott area share public roads with residents. When a work vehicle is involved, the employer's policy, the driver's logs and the maintenance history all become part of the claim.
Police coverage in Magna
Magna is served by the Unified Police Department's Magna Precinct at 2711 South Buccaneer Drive, which also covers Copperton. The Utah Highway Patrol may handle crashes on state highways such as SR-201. Because SR-201, 8400 West and 3500 South are UDOT roads, a crash linked to a signal, construction or road design requires a notice of claim within one year.
PIP Is the First Source of Payment
Your Utah auto policy includes personal injury protection, and it pays without regard to fault: at least $3,000 for medical care, plus 85% of gross lost income capped at $250 per week for up to 52 weeks (Utah Code § 31A-22-307). Our no-fault guide explains more.
Magna has no hospital of its own, so an ambulance ride to West Valley City and an emergency workup can exceed that limit quickly. Under Utah Code § 31A-22-309, you can pursue the other driver for general damages such as pain and suffering after one of these:
- Medical bills beyond $3,000
- A fracture
- Objectively documented permanent disability or impairment
- Permanent disfigurement
- Dismemberment
- A fatality
Then the at-fault driver's insurance company owes the full claim; if its policy limits run out, underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy can make up some or all of the difference. Learn about UIM.
Comparative Fault After a Magna Crash
Utah Code § 78B-5-818 reduces your recovery by the share of fault assigned to you, and you get nothing if your share equals or exceeds that of the defendants combined.
On 8400 West, the insurer's story is that you pulled into a gap you should not have taken, or walked across far from a marked crossing; on SR-201, that you were following too closely. Utah Code § 41-6a-601 bars driving faster than is reasonable and prudent for existing conditions, including hazards from pedestrians, traffic, weather and highway conditions, which often answers those claims. Lighting, sight distance, speed data and witness accounts need to be gathered quickly.
Your deadlines
Four years for most injury claims (Utah Code § 78B-2-307), two years for wrongful death, and one year to file a notice of claim against UDOT, Magna City, Salt Lake County, UTA or another government body (§ 63G-7-402). Details in our statute of limitations guide.
Magna Crash Cases We Handle
Highway intersection crashes
Where 8400 West, 7200 West and other cross streets meet SR-201, and at the signals on 3500 South. Riders hit this way: see our Magna motorcycle accident page.
Commercial truck collisions
Crashes with trucks and work vehicles on the routes serving industrial sites. Our truck crash guide covers the records to preserve.
Downtown Main Street crashes
Backing, parking and crosswalk collisions along the historic main street, where speeds are low but pedestrians take the full impact.
Night-time pedestrian crashes
People on foot struck on 8400 West and other long stretches between signals. Utah Code § 41-6a-1002 governs yielding at crosswalks; our pedestrian claims guide covers crossings elsewhere. Hit on foot in Magna? See our Magna pedestrian accident page.
No insurance, or a driver who fled
Your uninsured motorist coverage generally pays when the at-fault driver is uninsured or unidentified. If the crash involved no contact with the other vehicle, Utah Code § 31A-22-305(6) requires clear and convincing proof of that vehicle, more than your own testimony.
Steps After a Magna Crash
- Call 911. Unified Police from the Magna Precinct respond in town, and the Highway Patrol may take a crash on a state highway. Get the agency name and case number.
- Be evaluated that day. Holy Cross Hospital West Valley is a Level III trauma center, and Intermountain Medical Center and University of Utah Hospital are Level I centers.
- Photograph the road, the lighting, vehicle positions, signals, the nearest marked crossing and any company markings on a truck.
- Collect witness names and numbers; workers heading to or from a shift are often the only independent observers.
- Open your PIP claim and hold off on a recorded statement to the at-fault driver's insurer. See how attorneys handle the insurer.
Magna crash suits go to the Third Judicial District Court for Salt Lake County, at the Matheson Courthouse, 450 South State Street, or the West Jordan courthouse, 8080 South Redwood Road. We prepare every case for trial, though most settle first. Our Magna personal injury page and guide to a Utah injury case have more. Call (801) 921-5134. Free consultation. No attorney fees unless we win. Hablamos Español.
General information about Utah law for people hurt in Magna, not legal advice about your case. Results depend on each case's facts, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.