HURRICANE – Multiple agencies responded to the report of a vehicle crash in Quail Creek State Park that resulted in two people being transported to the hospital Tuesday morning.

Around 10:40 a.m., on N. 5300 West – the road connecting state Route 9 to Old Highway 91 that runs alongside Quail Creek Reservoir – a 1996 Ford Taurus went off the roadway near the north end where it turns toward Old Highway 91. The car went down an embankment, rolling at least once, Hurricane Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said.

The Taurus dropped off the road about 30-35 feet, Buell said, before it came to a stop on its side at the bottom of the embankment. Set between the car and the water was a cluster of trees at the water’s edge.

Inside the car were two men who were able to climb out of the car on their own, Buell said. Hurricane Valley Fire and Ambulance transported them in what appeared to be stable condition to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.

The northbound lane of N. 5300 West was blocked off as responding agencies gathered at the scene, including Hurricane City Police, Washington County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue high angle team and Utah State Parks personnel.

Both lanes of travel were temporarily blocked as a crane was brought in to help remove the car from the bottom of the embankment.

While making sure the two men involved in the accident were all right was a chief concern, another priority for Quail Creek State Park Manager Laura Melling was making sure fluids from the car weren’t leaking into the reservoir.

“It rolled beneath the high-water line and this is our main culinary water,” Melling said. “It was below the high-water line and it’s in the drainage because, on a rainy day like today, everything’s going downhill.”

A little oil appeared to get into the water, she said, but not enough to cause concern. If gasoline had leaked into the water though, Melling said, parks personnel would have put up a surface-water barrier and contained the spill to the channel so it could be removed.

Melling noted the interagency cooperation between Utah State Parks and the other agencies that responded to the accident.

“We have a fantastic response team in this county,” she said. “The county, Hurricane, Search and Rescue, the parks people; they all come out and work great together.”

The cause of the accident is under investigation, Buell said, and was unable to comment on possible factors involved.

The last time an accident like this happened on N. 5300 West was about 12 years ago, Melling said.

St. George News and KCSG Reporter Melissa Anderson contributed the videocast to this report.  See video top of this report.

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

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