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Summarized by Kent Larsen
Elder from China killed
Deseret News 9Jun00 N1
By Sharon Haddock and Lynn Arave: Deseret News staff writers
SPRINGVILLE, UTAH -- An LDS missionary that had recently arrived in the
Provo Mission Training Center was hit and killed in a freeway onramp traffic
accident early Friday morning. Elder Wen Ping Shi, 27, of Fujin, China was
killed at about 1:14 am by a driver in a pickup truck. Since Shi was wearing
a dark suit, the driver did not see him.
Because they have ruled the death an accident, police will not charge the
driver, and will therefore not release the driver's name. But police are
still uncertain about why Shi was walking southbound on the onramp from Utah
state road 75. "He (Shi) may not have known he was on an onramp. He only
arrived in the country on Tuesday,"said Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Chris
Kramer. "He was walking right in the middle of the ramp. That's why we think
he must not have realized where he was."
Shi was pronounced dead on the scene. He evidently left the MTC sometime
during the night and hitchhiked from Provo to Springville. He seemed to be
headed to Arizona where he has friends, says Kramer.
In response to news of Shi's death, the LDS Church released the following
statement. "We are saddened to learn that an accident has claimed the life
this morning of Elder Wen Ping Shi, a missionary receiving trainin at the
Missionary Training Center in Provo. He had arrived in the MTC on Wednesday,
June 7. Elder Shi had been called to serve in the Washington, D.C. North
Mission to teach in Mandarin."
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