Woman, dog traveling to Las Vegas spin out on Interstate

Damage to a car from Colorado following a collision that left the car totaled but the driver and canine passenger uninjured, Toquerville, Utah, August 19, 2015 | Photo by Nataly Burdick, St. George News

TOQUERVILLE — A Colorado woman and her dog en route to Las Vegas were uninjured despite colliding with a guardrail and spinning out across Interstate 15 near Toquerville Wednesday night; her car, however, was totaled.

The 29-year-old woman was driving a blue Hyundai southbound on Interstate 15, around mile marker 38 a few miles north of the Toquerville exit, around 10 p.m. when luggage in her car moved, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Pastor said.

Damage to a car from Colorado following a collision that left the car totaled but the driver and canine passenger uninjured, Toquerville, Utah, August 19, 2015 | Photo by Nataly Burdick, St. George News
Damage to a car from Colorado following a collision that left the car totaled but the driver and canine passenger uninjured, Toquerville, Utah, August 19, 2015 | Photo by Nataly Burdick, St. George News

She looked over for a split second to adjust the luggage, Pastor said, but when she looked up, she had drifted out of the left lane of traffic, which she had been driving in, onto the left side of the road, where there was a concrete barrier.

She overcorrected, crossing both lanes and hitting the guardrail on the right side of the road head-on, Pastor said, which caused her to spin out and end up facing against the flow of traffic.

The car was totaled and had to be towed from the scene, but the woman did not report any injuries, Pastor said, and seemed to have been wearing her seatbelt at the time of the collision.

Her dog, traveling with her, was also uninjured.

UHP did not issue a citation to the woman, Pastor said, and there were no signs of impairment or speeding.

The woman did not hit any other cars, but the collision did cause some damage to the guardrail, including pulling down cables on the railing.

While initial reports to dispatch suggested that the car was blocking a lane of traffic, when UHP arrived on scene they found that the car was out of the way of traffic and did not have to close lanes at any point to remove the car.

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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6 Comments

  • tcrider August 20, 2015 at 9:01 am

    Was she moving the luggage telepathically with her eyes when she was looking at it?
    Or did she put the car in auto pilot while she did a hands on for the luggage? Wait a minute, who was driving the car?
    I seen a guy the other day on I -15 with a laptop setup on his dash, and it looked like he was watching gilligans island while he was driving on I-15, the ironic part of this story is, a state trooper past us up and did nothing about it???????

    • indy-vfr August 20, 2015 at 10:30 am

      The trooper was probably staring at his computer too…….

  • ladybugavenger August 20, 2015 at 11:03 am

    Distracted driving…..note to self: put luggage in trunk

    • Dexter August 20, 2015 at 11:39 pm

      Note to self. get luggage that can travel by itself and it will be waiting for me at my final destination

  • beentheredonethat August 20, 2015 at 11:17 am

    He was tuned in to the Beverly Hillbillys!

    • Dexter August 20, 2015 at 11:37 pm

      Or maybe Adam 12 or maybe Car 54 where are you.!

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