WASHINGTON CITY – A wheelchair-bound woman was taken to the hospital and a van was severely damaged after a single-vehicle accident at an Interstate 15 off-ramp in Washington City Thursday evening.

At about 5:43 p.m., emergency responders were dispatched to the Exit 16 southbound off-ramp of I-15 in Washington City, near the Hurricane border, where a van exiting the interstate had overshot the off-ramp, left the roadway and crashed.

“The driver stated he just took it way too fast, came off the road and hit into an embankment,” Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Taj Eldredge said.

Landing a good distance from the roadway, the van sustained significant front-end damage, and a side window was shattered.

“The front left wheel is pretty much off the vehicle, so it’s totally disabled,” Eldredge said.

Eldredge said some passersby who saw the accident stopped to help the people in the van.

“We had some good Samaritans,” he said.

Cathy Williams was among the group that stopped to render aid, along with Nick Whitney and Dairus Jensen, she said. They stayed with the occupants of the van until an ambulance arrived.

A woman who had been secured in a wheelchair in the back of the van was thrown during the accident, Williams said, and her head broke the back passenger window. Whitney assessed that the woman was conscious and coherent, however, Williams said.

The man driving the van had a cut on one arm as a result of the crash and was treated at the scene.

The woman in the wheelchair sustained some injuries to her head and face as well as some cuts and was transported by ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Eldredge said, adding that her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. Her husband, who had been in the front passenger seat of the van, rode with her to the hospital.

Because the van landed off the road, traffic was not greatly impacted as a result of the crash. Southbound vehicles exiting I-15 had to slow down to safely pass the emergency vehicles and responders at the scene, but beyond that, there were no significant traffic impacts.

The van had Colorado license plates, and the people inside were presumably from out of town, a Washington City firefighter at the scene said.

Eldredge said no citations will be issued in connection with the crash.

The van was towed from the scene by St. George Towing.

In addition to UHP, the Hurricane Valley Fire District, Utah Department of Transportation and Washington City Fire responded to the scene.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

St. George News reporter Ric Wayman contributed to this report.

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