High speeds in heavy rain yield 5-vehicle crash on I-15

WASHINGTON COUNTY — A man in his mid-40s traveling in excess of 100 mph in heavy rain Monday morning caused a five-vehicle crash on Interstate 15 in St. George, officials said.

A car is wrecked in the mud after a crash on Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Jan. 9, 2017 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News
A car is wrecked in the mud after a crash on Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Jan. 9, 2017 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News

The vehicles were traveling south on I-15 near Southern Parkway Exit 2 at approximately 7:12 a.m. when the chain of events unfolded, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Pastor said.

“From what we gather, there was a red Mazda convertible passenger car that was traveling at a high rate of speed – reports of excess of over 100 mph – who rear-ended a silver Mitsubishi Galant traveling in the right-hand lane,” Pastor said.

Due to the excess of speed, Pastor said, the red Mazda ended up crashing through a barrier fence and into a vacant lot approximately 200 feet off the interstate.

The force of the impact caused the silver Mitsubishi to spin around before coming to rest and stalling in the middle of traffic – consequently causing a yellow Ford Mustang to crash head-on with the Mitsubishi, Pastor said.

Two other drivers received minor damage to their vehicles as they tried to avoid hitting the crashed cars.

Emergency vehicles respond to a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Jan. 9, 2017 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News
Emergency vehicles respond to a multivehicle crash on Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Jan. 9, 2017 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News

Three woman between the ages of 50 and 60 traveling in the silver Mitsubishi were injured in the crash, Pastor said, and were transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George in “fair” condition.

No other injuries were reported, Pastor added.

“Fortunately, everybody that was involved was all wearing seat belts. Only minor injuries occurred,” Pastor said, adding “There was [sic] multiple airbag deployments in all vehicles that were involved with the collisions.”

The red Mazda, silver Mitsubishi and yellow Mustang were rendered inoperable during the collisions and were towed from the scene.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • utahdiablo January 9, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    How about reckless driving, and other charges to take away this idiots drivers license? Oh No, too harsh..

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