A woman and her boyfriend spent a stormy night amid the wreckage of their overturned vehicle in a remote area of Kane County after the woman's niece was ejected from the car and died. They were found Friday morning.
Tanya Sales, 47, who was driving the car, passenger Gary Cross, 55, and Sales' niece, Jaylyne Doramus, 21, left Kanab Thursday evening to drive to a friend's home in the Deer Springs Ranch area of Kane County. But they were unfamiliar with the area and got lost, according to a Kane County Sheriff's Office press release.
The evening storm and possibly slick roads may have contributed to the accident about five miles east of Glendale. About 9 p.m., the Ford Explorer slid off Glendale Bench Road and rolled, ejecting Sales and Doramus, who was in the back seat.
Doramus was killed. She had given birth two weeks ago and had left the baby in Kanab with the father.
Cross helped Sales back inside the Explorer, where they sought shelter through the night, the release said. When it became light Friday morning, the survivors were able to find a cell phone in the wreckage. It was not activated, since it had been only used as a camera, but they were still able to call 911.
The dispatch center got their call about 9 a.m.
Since the couple were not familiar with the area, and had crashed in a remote area, it took officers from the Kane County Sheriff's Office, Kanab City Police, Utah Highway Patrol and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources almost 50 minutes to find them.
Sales and Cross were treated at the scene and taken to the Kane County Hospital in Kanab. As of 3 p.m. Friday, both were still at the hospital.
The Kane County Sheriff and the UHP are still investigating the accident. Sales and Cross were wearing seat belts, but Kane County Sheriff's Sgt. Alan Alldredge did not immediately know if Doramus was belted.
mmcfall@sltrib.com