2 separate cable barrier crashes delay traffic on I-15

ST. GEORGE — Two collisions within an hour and a half of each other Monday morning caused major traffic delays on Interstate 15 in St. George and damaged 100 feet of cable barrier.

The first crash happened around 9:48 a.m. on northbound I-15 near milepost 8.5, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Lewis said, when a woman driving a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder was traveling in the left lane.

A single car accident at mile marker 8 on I-15 totaled an SUV and damaged 100 feet of cable barrier, St. George, Utah, Sept. 21, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News
A single car accident at mile marker 8 on I-15 totaled an SUV and damaged 100 feet of cable barrier, St. George, Utah, Sept. 21, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

“For an unknown reason she drifted off the left shoulder,” Lewis said, “and wasn’t able to get back on the roadway and ran into the cable barrier.”

About 100 feet of the cable barrier was damaged, and the left lane of travel was shut down for an hour while responders cleaned up debris and towed the vehicle from the scene.

The woman did the right thing by not overcorrecting, which could easily have caused her vehicle to roll and caused more accidents, Lewis said. If drivers find themselves off of the road, he said, it is important to respond appropriately.

“No fast movements,” Lewis said. “Most people are going to want to panic and jerk the wheel, and that’s the one thing you shouldn’t do.”

Instead, just try to slow the vehicle and maintain control, without making any sudden movements, he said.

The driver was not injured, except for bumps and bruises, Lewis said, and declined medical transport. She was issued a citation for improper lane travel. The Nisson was heavily damaged, and had to be towed from the scene.

About 15 minutes after the first crash was cleared up, a second crash occurred at about mile marker 6.

At about 11:14 a.m., a small silver Toyota went off the left side of the freeway and struck the cable barrier. The crash was triggered by debris on the highway, Lewis said.

A pickup truck pulling a trailer of tile lost some of its load about a quarter of a mile from the scene, spilling it onto the freeway and causing traffic to start slowing down. As traffic started backing up, the Toyota was getting onto the freeway.

“He was just getting onto the freeway at (Exit) 6 northbound, and he was trying to merge onto the lane,” Lewis said.

“When he got into the left lane, the car in front of him slowed down and hit their brakes, and he did the same thing to try to avoid hitting them.”

The driver swerved to the left to avoid the vehicle in front of him, went off of the road and hit the cable barrier, Lewis said. The impact spun the car around, and it came to rest facing the opposite direction.

The male driver and his female passenger were not injured, and the driver was not cited. The front end of the vehicle was damaged as well as both the right and left sides. Traffic was disrupted for approximately 30 minutes while the debris was cleaned up and the car towed, Lewis said.

Utah Highway Patrol, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance all responded to the incident.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

 

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1 Comment

  • fun bag September 21, 2015 at 4:52 pm

    If ur unsure about things just trust in heavenly father and pedal to the metal

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