Trailer smashed to pieces after driver loses control of truck

A camp trailer lies in pieces after a crash on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 5, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

WASHINGTON COUNTY — A camp trailer was destroyed after the driver of the truck that was hauling it lost control and slammed into a guardrail Friday night.

A Chevrolet pickup truck is damaged after its driver lost control in a crash on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 5, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

At 9:38 p.m., Utah Highway Patrol was dispatched to the scene of the crash involving a Chevrolet pickup truck towing a camp trailer near mile marker 35 on southbound Interstate 15.

“The driver reported that he was passing a semi and got caught up in the wind as he passed the semi, lost control of the vehicle and struck the guard rail,” Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jesse Williams said.

The guardrail was severely dented but appeared to have protected the truck from rolling off an adjacent hillside.

“The trailer came apart on impact and it rolled over,” Williams said. “The truck is also a total loss.”

The trailer appeared to have burst open with debris and camping equipment thrown and spread across both lanes the interstate.

The driver was able to maneuver the truck onto the outside shoulder lane where the destroyed trailer became detached.

None of the truck’s three occupants reported any injuries, Williams said, and all were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.

The semitractor-trailer driver pulled over to make sure the vehicles had not made contact, confirming with the driver of the Chevrolet no collision had occurred, Williams said.

Debris line the road, thrown from a destroyed camp trailer on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 5, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

“The driver was cited for failure to maintain a lane and expired trailer registration,” Williams said of the Chevrolet driver.

A wrecker arrived to pick up the totaled Chevrolet, the driver patiently waiting as the occupants of the pickup truck picked up belongings now strewn about the brush.

A Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy was on scene assisting by picking up potentially hazardous items thrown down the hillside during the crash, such as a leaking car battery and propane tanks.

A dump truck arrived later to pick up the larger debris for disposal.

Traffic was reduced to one lane of traffic as the scene was cleaned up but was not impacted greatly because of the late hour.

Emergency personnel from Hurricane Valley Fire District and the Utah Department of Transportation also responded to the scene.

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

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

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

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

7 Comments

  • mmsandie May 6, 2017 at 8:38 am

    Why would a man driving pickup truck pulling a trailer try and pass a semi??that part of rte 15 is downhill, speed limit should be reduced… In Europe rvs campers cannot drive over 55 mph…no accidents there… It was nighttime, dark, lots of traffic.. Can,t understand drivers.. At least they had seat belts on.. They must have been over 21

    • Henry May 6, 2017 at 8:23 pm

      On the German autobahn , a truck pulling a trailer wouldn’t even get out of the right-most lane. They know if they did, a BMW or Porsche with flashing headlights would appear behind them in a nano-second.

  • DRT May 6, 2017 at 9:01 am

    I’ve seen a lot of tag along trailers being towed without load level hitches and anti-sway bars. If you are going to spend thousands on a travel trailer, then spend a few hundred more and get the proper towing equipment.
    I’ve towed a big trailer all over the country, from Alaska to Florida, over a lot of years, in a lot of weather and traffic conditions, without​any problems with control. Get the right equipment, use common sense, and you are much less likely to have problems.

  • wilbur May 6, 2017 at 9:36 am

    .

    This accident could have been prevented by having the trailer properly registered. /s

  • comments May 6, 2017 at 11:20 am

    Probably 87 mph, at night, with a full trailer–what could go wrong?

  • Proud Rebel May 6, 2017 at 7:08 pm

    Looks like the ramp survived the crash. 🙂

  • utahdiablo May 7, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    Aw heck Udot, raise the limit even higher….90 – 95 mph anyone? ( we all know most drive this speed already with the posted 80 mph ) so then you can do 100, really make a impression with your friends and family into the oncoming guardrail…:>)

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.