SH-288 northbound crash at Orem; 17 incidents in 30 days

A major crash on SH-288 northbound at Orem brought traffic to a crawl Sunday morning at 11:23 AM. The incident blocked lanes and backed up vehicles for miles as responding officers worked the scene.

This stretch of the Gulf Freeway has become a persistent problem. Over the past 30 days, LTA data shows 17 incidents at this location—15 of them major crashes. Zoom out to the past 90 days and the count climbs to 50 total incidents, with 29 classified as major. The pattern is even starker over a full year: 98 incidents in 12 months, including 52 major crashes and one fatality.

Sundays are the busiest day here. According to LTA data, this location saw 11 crashes on Sundays alone over the past 90 days—more than any other day of the week. While the single peak hour is 8–9 AM (4 crashes during that window), crashes occur at varied times throughout the day, which means this corridor doesn't follow a traditional rush-hour pattern. The 11:23 AM timing on Sunday fits the broader pattern of vulnerability across multiple time windows.

Temperatures were in the low 90s under clear skies when this crash occurred, so weather wasn't a factor. But the sheer volume of incidents at this location tells a different story.

Historically, per TxDOT CRIS public crash records dating back to January 2020, this corridor has seen 364 crashes within about a quarter-mile. The most common contributing factor recorded by investigating officers is "Failed To Control Speed," cited in 129 of those crashes. The hit-and-run rate here is 9.9%—meaning roughly 1 in 10 crashes involve a driver who doesn't stay at the scene.

If you're headed north on 288, consider Almeda Road, South Main, or IH-69/US-59 as parallel options while crews clear the scene. Expect delays to persist through the mid-afternoon as units work the wreckage and reopen lanes.