Truck-trailer rollover on I-15 sends driver to hospital, causes miles of traffic backup

A Toyota Tundra rests upside down after a rollover on Interstate 15 in Washington County, Utah, Oct. 15, 2018 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

WASHINGTON COUNTY — A woman was injured in a rollover Monday evening after the trailer she was hauling behind her pickup truck fishtailed out of control on southbound Interstate 15.

The scene of a rollover on Interstate 15 in Washington County, Utah, Oct. 15, 2018 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

Emergency personnel responded to the rollover involving a 2010 Toyota Tundra pulling a travel trailer north of Exit 13 on I-15 at 6:08 p.m.

The crash occurred shortly after the driver changed lanes, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jeff Adams said.

“She felt the back end of the trailer start to pull around and subsequently fishtailed, causing the trailer and truck to spin in traffic across both lanes of travel,” Adams said.

At that point, the truck went off the road on the outside shoulder, causing the trailer to become unhinged. The truck and trailer then both rolled, Adams said, with the truck landing on its side in the dirt near an embankment on the shoulder of the road and the trailer coming to rest on its side in the outside lane, blocking traffic.

A Toyota Tundra is heavily damaged following a rollover on Interstate 15 in Washington County, Utah, Oct. 15, 2018 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

Responders from Washington City Fire Department arrived on scene and extricated the woman from the truck. Her pet dog was also in the truck and was uninjured.

The woman was able to stand on her own after getting out of the truck, Adams said. She was transported by an ambulance from Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue to Dixie Regional Medical Center for evaluation.

Adams said her injuries appeared to be “very minor” and that she was discharged from the hospital not long after receiving treatment, noting that she was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash.

Speed did not appear to be a factor in the crash, according to witness statement, Adams said.

“There will be no citations issued at this time,” he said.

A camp trailer is towed after a rollover on Interstate 15 in Washington County, Utah, Oct. 15, 2018 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

The pickup sustained heavy damage, with a crunched frame and bed. Both the truck and the trailer were turned upright by a team of three wreckers before being towed away.

The crash caused the outside lane of traffic to be blocked for about 1 ½ hours. Both lanes were intermittently closed as responders and wreckers tended to the scene, leading to delays of 15 minutes or more for motorists through the area.

A minor crash involving a semitractor and a passenger car occurred just north of the rollover as traffic was slowing behind it. No one was injured and the damage to either vehicle was minimal.

The incidents involved a multiagency response with responders from Washington City Fire Department, Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue, Utah Highway Patrol, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Utah Department of Transportation.

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

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7 Comments

  • Carpe Diem October 16, 2018 at 6:45 am

    OOPS, that was a sweet rig, too.

  • Mjohnson October 16, 2018 at 8:14 am

    Looks to me like a case of too much trailer, not enough truck! People are getting too confident in their half ton trucks. Also, trailer manufacturer’s and sales people need to stop advertising half-ton towable trailers unless it’s legitimately a really small trailer. My trailer is a 28′ bumper pull toy hauler, and is supposedly half-ton towable!!! Yet I tow it with a diesel one-ton dually, and I’ve been in situations on the highway where I’m confident if I had a smaller truck I would have been off the road, or rolled! I’m glad no one was killed in this incident!

    • RVer October 16, 2018 at 9:07 am

      Absolutely agreed! She may also not have been going over the posted speed limit, but was most likely too fast for her rig and the conditions – along with not being familiar with the operation of her Trailer Brake Controller. Had she been going slower this might not have happened. Had she used her manual TBC lever and straightened out the trailer, this may not have happened. If you are towing, SLOW DOWN. Your trailer tires are most likely not rated for the posted speed limit. Know your weight ratings and follow them.

  • LunchboxHero October 16, 2018 at 8:46 am

    The size of some of these trailers is ridiculous and people need to learn to haul the things. I’m just glad everyone was relatively unscathed.

  • chris keele October 16, 2018 at 9:25 am

    Yes Mjohnson you are correct in your comments about not quite enough pickup truck, and the way the manufacturers have exploited those in that market with the ” lite ” trailers to perpetuate that condition, also I could not see in the pictures what kind of hitch was on the truck, but there are mechanical methods to assist us and help prevent the sway that occurs when towing, equalizer hitch for one etc.etc. also they need to slow down, there is a reason why companies who know a whole lot about towing trailers like U Haul has a policy of towing at 55 mph.

  • Happy Commenter October 16, 2018 at 10:27 am

    It has been very windy the last few days also. Trailers are light and really get tough to control with high side winds, especially when being pulled by an inexperienced driver.

  • justsaying October 16, 2018 at 6:05 pm

    How about failure to maintain your lane? or control of your vehicle? She just walks away with nothing? How many times are we going to see travel trailers rolled along I-15?…lots folks, lots.

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