ST. GEORGE — The driver of a Dodge Ram pickup truck with an attached trailer lost control of the vehicle and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15 early Wednesday morning, police said.
Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Lewis said the incident happened just before 4 a.m. and involved a white 2017 Dodge Ram with a male driver and one other passenger. The pickup was pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with equipment and supplies.
The incident occurred as the vehicle was traveling southbound on I-15 near mile marker 29.
“The driver said he was coming down the hill. It was raining at the time pretty heavily and (he said) that his trailer started to jackknife on him,” Lewis said. “He tried to straighten it out but was unable to do so and ended up going through the guardrail and off the road.”
Neither of the vehicle’s occupants reported any injuries, but the vehicle sustained heavy damage and needed to be towed from the scene. No other vehicles were involved, Lewis said.
Tow truck workers were seen winching the truck up the steep embankment and onto the right shoulder and side of the road around 7 a.m. While the scene was being cleared, Utah Department of Transportation safety personnel restricted southbound I-15 travel to the left lane only.
“The driver said he was only going about 70 miles an hour at the time,” Lewis added. “He said the rain and stuff just started coming down really hard.”
The vehicle, a work truck used to transport materials around the country, had Georgia license plates, and the driver was also from Georgia. He received a citation for failure to stay in the lane of travel, Lewis said.
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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Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News Tow truck workers use a winch to recover a Dodge Ram pickup truck after its driver reportedly lost control and crashed through a guardrail on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, May 2, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News
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“The driver said he was only going about 70 miles an hour at the time,” Lewis added. “He said the rain and stuff just started coming down really hard.”
If it’s a hard downpour that ‘only’ as in ‘only 70mph’ doesn’t make much difference, plus it was 4 am?
We don’t need you to rewrite the story..just leave a comment and move on Bob
It’s okay to tell us where the accident occurred. We do have to offer our own conclusion of what happened and where it happened, don’t you see.
The reference to the location was inadvertently omitted at first, but article has been updated to include the following sentence: “The incident occurred as the vehicle was traveling southbound on I-15 near mile marker 29.” Thanks for reading! — Jeff Richards
“He received a citation for failure to stay in the lane of travel.” Really? Let’s rub a little salt in his wounds and generate some revenue at the same time. UHP must be behind on their quotas.