A 15-year-old girl was killed in northeast Utah in July when the highway she and her father were traveling suddenly collapsed, leaving a gaping sink hole. A second vehicle was swallowed up by the crater that measured 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep, according to Usatoday.com.

Sixth-grade honor student Justine Barneck was killed at the scene and her father, 59-year-old Michael Barneck, was injured near Tabiona, roughly 90 miles east of Salt Lake City, after a heavy evening storm overflowed a culvert and wiped out two-lane State Highway 35.

As the road collapsed, Barneck cleared the chasm, and then hit a patch of uplifted asphalt on the crater's far edge before careening off the highway. Another car, driven by 37-year-old Helen Paulson, plunged into the hole and was pulled to safety by a rescue team. Both drivers were taken to Utah's Uintah Basin Medical Center for treatment, according to Vernal.com. All were wearing seatbelts.

A spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation (DOT) said crews had unclogged the culvert that afternoon after a hail storm and again at 9:30 p.m. The sink hole appeared later that night, after another downpour. A new culvert and 3,500 yards of dirt were needed to fill the hole.

If you or a member of your family has been seriously injured in a highway accident, consult a trusted personal injury attorney to determine your options and pursue compensation.

Source: Huge sink hole opens, causing fatal Utah crash