ST. GEORGE – A driver lost control and rolled his vehicle this morning on Snow Canyon Parkway.
Around 8 a.m. a car heading into St. George from Ivins was just past the roundabout marking the boundary between St. George and Ivins city limits, St. George Police Sgt. Sam Despain said, when, according to witnesses, the vehicle began to fishtail on loose gravel. The car veered off the road and up an embankment and ultimately went through a railing alongside the roadway. The car rolled and finally came to a stop in a wash.
The driver of the vehicle and passenger came out of the crash with relatively minor injuries, Despain said. The driver declined to be transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center, while the passenger was taken by ambulance as a precaution after complaining about back pain.
Despain said road work had recently been done on that portion of Snow Canyon Parkway, resulting in loose gravel on the roadway. The loose gravel, coupled with the driver of the car allegedly speeding, were the likely causes of the crash, Despain said, as the driver was cited for speeding.
The wash near the Ivins roundabout was also the scene of another vehicle rollover on Feb. 25, 2013.
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Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.
Was driving on this road today and lots of speeders. I was going slower and in the outside lane cause I would prefer less rock chips.
When are the Ivins and St. George Police Departments going to start running stationary and moving radar consistently on Snow Canyon Parkway? Targeting this area with periodically with higher police presence would help reduce the speeding problem. My wife and I travel this road almost everyday and I can’t even recall observing one motor vehicle stop being initiated along this road. Vehicles are routinely exceeding the speed limits by 15-20mph or more over the limit.
Oh but these round a bouts are a wonderful thing. . .not!
I hate roundabouts but this had nothing to do with it. The chip and seal is a far distance after the stupid thing (St. George City Limit.). I’d guess the driver seen the gravel and hit the throttle hard spinning off the road and into the wash. I seen the bent up railing driving home today.
They need some extra patrols on Snow Canyon Speedway. When you drive the speed limit you will be passed by every car on the road happens to me daily!!
The FHWA has a video about modern roundabouts that is mostly accurate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhHzly_6lWM ).
Modern roundabouts are the safest form of intersection in the world. Visit http://tinyurl.com/iihsRAB for FAQs and safety facts.
This incident happened about 1,200 ft from the Ivins round-a-bout. The round-a-bout was a non-player for this situation. High rates of speed and lack of attention to construction signs were the major factors.
Yeah it’s nice having a round about in the middle of a perfectly good 50 mile an hour road. As far as putting cops along the road, that has to be one of the most hair brain ideas I’ve ever heard from a citizen, as far as I know, or have ever heard this is the only accident on that road. Until there is a problem, or somethings broken, don’t fix it.
There have been many accidents on that road.
Even coming off the round about at normal speeds, I was surprised at the fact there was gravel down. There was no signage on the Ivins side of the round a bout telling about loose gravel. When I hit the gravel at 15-20 mph I even lost a little traction. The gravel had just been laid and was VERY loose.
The normal speed limit of 40 mph should be considered for an increase like they did on red hills pkwy, with a slow down to 35 before you hit the wash and round a bout area.
I was on a motorcycle that morning and saw the EMS team providing help. It was more than just a little sloppy with that gravel. It seemed to be laid down a little thicker than usual. I agree with the previous comment about the lack of signage and warning. The sign was about 30 yards after the roundabout and the gravel began about 50 yards after that. With the downhill slope of the road, it was very difficult to see the signs.
As I passed by, I thought briefly of stopping to take a picture, in case Mori was going to report on the accident. Sorry Mori, the gravel was way too dangerous.
I actually appreciate all the crash reports here. I am a chiropractor here in town, and I work with a lot of crash victims. With the constant coverage, I hope people read these reports and remember that they can be part of the problem or part of the solution. Many of our crashes can be avoided if people focus on driving and no other distractions.
Having said that, I am not suggesting that this accident was a case of distracted driving. I know the people involved and this was a case of over-driving road conditions with mitigating circumstances.
Keep them coming, Mori.