Northbound car flips over cable barrier, lands feet from southbound side of I-15

View of rollover crash from northbound side of Interstate 15 near mile marker 33 involving a silver Ford Focus, Washington County, Utah, July 7, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

WASHINGTON COUNTY — A driver who rolled his car on Interstate 15 was injured after the car crashed in the median, causing hundreds of motorists to become stopped in traffic behind the crash on a sweltering Saturday afternoon.

View of rollover crash from northbound side of Interstate 15 near mile marker 33 involving a silver Ford Focus, Washington County, Utah, July 7, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

At 2:30 p.m. officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to the single-vehicle rollover involving a silver Ford Focus near mile marker 33.

Upon arrival troopers found the vehicle in an upright position just feet from the southbound shoulder with the injured driver nearby, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Evan Kirby said.

The driver suffered several lacerations and was transported by ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George for evaluation and treatment.

“He was pretty cut up from climbing out of the vehicle,” Kirby said.

The man told troopers he was heading north toward Utah County from his home in Arizona when he lost control of the car as it careened off the inside shoulder and started to roll.

Southbound traffic viewed from the overpass at Interstate 15 Exit 33 after a single-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon, Washington County, Utah, July 7, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The Ford rolled several more feet and went over a steel cable barrier that separates the north and southbound lanes of I-15 before it came to rest where responders found it.

Kirby said troopers “are looking at distracted driving as being the likely cause of the crash.”

Southbound traffic was backed up behind the crash for several miles while responders cleared the scene.

UHP troopers were assisted by responders from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Utah State Parks and Harmony Valley Fire District.

This report is based on statements from police and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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3 Comments

  • Ridic July 8, 2018 at 11:08 am

    Wow I was only about 30 minutes ahead of this wreck and I’m glad I was. It’s a good thing they put in those cable barriers that “prevent” cars from crossing over to the opposite direction of travel and cause every slide off in the winter to become an accident and not just a slide off.

  • DB July 8, 2018 at 2:31 pm

    Ridic, my ‘sarcasm’ alert light is blinking at the moment. Personally, I’d rather have the cable as opposed to a head-on that seems to occur almost every day on rural Utah roads.

  • Mike P July 9, 2018 at 10:14 am

    Those cables have prevented many of the famous Utah left turns from turning into a head-on.

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