Police: Driver falls asleep at the wheel on I-15, car goes through oncoming traffic

A Honda passenger car rests in the brush after the driver went off the road on Interstate 15, Mohave County, Arizona, Dec. 10, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. — A man was arrested Sunday evening after reportedly falling asleep at the wheel on Interstate 15 and crossing into oncoming traffic.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Division responded to the incident at approximately 5:10 p.m. on southbound I-15 a few miles south of the Utah-Arizona border.

A Honda passenger car rests in the brush after the driver went off the road on Interstate 15, Mohave County, Arizona, Dec. 10, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

The driver of a silver Honda passenger car was northbound near Arizona mile marker 25 on the interstate at the time of the incident.

“The driver said he fell asleep,” Arizona Highway Patrol Trooper Stephen Hughes said.

“He hit the guardrail then crossed both lanes of traffic, nearly missing another vehicle.”

The car crossed the southbound lanes and left the roadway on the shoulder, Hughes said, going through a barbed wire fence before coming to rest in the brush.

“No other vehicles involved – luckily,” Hughes said.

The driver was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

“There was some open alcohol in the car,” Hughes said.

Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a crash off the shoulder of Interstate 15, Mohave County, Arizona, Dec. 10, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

Emergency personnel from St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance arrived to provide medical treatment, but the driver did not report any injuries.

“He’s got some cuts and scrapes, but that’s it,” Hughes said.

The car was badly damaged in the wreck and had to be towed away.

Responders from the Arizona Department of Transportation arrived at the scene to repair the broken fence.

This report is based preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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

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