A major crash on State Highway 288 outbound at the Orem entrance ramp brought morning commute traffic to a standstill Wednesday at 7:05 AM. The incident left multiple lanes affected as crews worked to clear the roadway and assess those involved.
This stretch of 288 has been a persistent flashpoint for collisions. According to LocalTrafficAccidents.com data, the corridor has logged 19 incidents in the past 30 days alone—17 of them major crashes. Over the past 12 months, the area near the Orem ramp has recorded 100 total incidents, including 54 major crashes and one fatality.
The timing of this morning's crash is notable given the location's patterns. While the single busiest hour at this corridor is 8 to 9 AM (which saw four crashes in recent data), collisions here occur at varied times rather than concentrating in one window. Today's 7:05 AM incident hit just before that peak hour, compounding disruption during the morning drive.
Per LTA real-time data, there were 48 crashes recorded within one mile of this location in the 30 days before this morning's incident. Since this crash, another 3 incidents have occurred within that same radius.
State crash records from the Texas Department of Transportation show broader patterns at this corridor. From January 2020 to present, the area has seen 360 crashes with no fatalities. Contributing factors as recorded by investigating officers show "Failed To Control Speed" as the most common citation, appearing in 127 of those crashes.
Weather at the time of the incident was clear, with temperatures at 88 degrees—a factor that rules out slick roads as a contributing element this morning.
The outbound lanes were the focus of response operations. How long the incident impacts your commute depends on the extent of vehicle damage and the time crews need to clear debris. If you're heading south on 288 this morning, expect slowdowns in that area and consider alternate routing until the road reopens. Check LTA for real-time updates on clearing times.
This report was produced by LTA's editor-designed production system under the executive editorial direction of Dennis R. Mundy, Executive Editor. The system combines our proprietary data pipeline with AI-assisted drafting to deliver verified incident coverage to LTA's editorial standards.