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A Salt Lake City woman was killed Friday after her vehicle hit a retaining wall on an Interstate 15 exit ramp, flew nearly 350 feet across a retention pond and crashed into an embankment.

A semitrailer driver noticed the car resting partially in the pond between I-15 and State Road 201 around 12:15 p.m., and notified authorities, said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Terry Woodward.

Emergency crews pulled the body of 21-year-old Maria L. Mejia from the crumpled Lincoln Towncar, said Salt Lake City Fire Capt. Michael Harp.

Woodward said Mejia was traveling at "freeway speeds, probably more" when the car hit the wall of the sharp-curving exit ramp to 2100 South. The car careened off the wall, went airborne over the pond and crashed into the dirt embankment. Troopers estimate the car dropped vertically about 70 feet from the off-ramp to the embankment below.

"Why she left the road and impacted the wall, we won't know," Woodward said.

The bumper of the car and other debris were scattered on the off-ramp several hundred feet from where the car initially hit the retaining wall.

Police aren't sure when the accident happened and have no witnesses, but said a Utah Department of Transportation worker had driven over the ramp around 8 a.m. and didn't see any debris.

"It is very unusual that we don't have witnesses for this," Woodward said.

While crews were extricating the body, they noticed a child booster seat and a car seat in the vehicle, so dive teams were called in to search for other possible victims in the pond, which is used to collect rain water.

Later, authorities were able to confirm that Mejia's children were not with her during the accident.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen what happened to call dispatch at 801-799-3000.