Driver taken to hospital after semi tips over on I-15 at the Hurricane Exit

ST. GEORGE — The driver of a semitractor-trailer was taken to the hospital after his truck tipped over on the southbound offramp at the Hurricane Exit of Interstate 15, troopers said.

A scene from an accident, in which a semi tipped over, at the southbound offramp of I-15, St. George, Utah, July 19, 2021 | Photo by David Dudley, St. George News

“He was likely going too fast around that bend,” said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Michael Freeman.

Freeman said that the driver was charged with speeding. The truck sustained moderate damage, and the driver’s injuries were minor, Freeman said. The 20-year-old driver was wearing seatbelt. Still the offramp was completely closed down from 2:20 p.m. until approximately 4:20 p.m.

Josh Brooks, who works for the Utah Department of Transportation, told St. George News that he called in the accident after seeing a cloud of dust.

“I was on state Route 9,” Brooks said, “when I saw a big cloud of dust. So I called it in.”

A Utah Highway Patrolman inspects the scene of an accident, in which a semi tipped over, at the southbound offramp of I-15, St. George, Utah, July 19, 2021 | Photo by David Dudley, St. George News

The semi was carrying a load of road base, said a bystander who asked not to be identified. The road base, valued at about $1,000, spilled over the shoulder of the off-ramp.

A firefighter who works for the Washington City Fire Department had built a dam, made of the spilled road base, to catch some of the hydraulic fluid that was leaking from the overturned truck. The truck was also leaking antifreeze.

The surface of the offramp was slightly damaged, Brooks said, which would require repairs less than $1,000.

It was just some surface-level scraping,” Brooks said. “Still, it’s in the roadway, so we’ll have to fix it.”

Utah Highway Patrol, Washington City Fire Department, Hurricane Valley Fire EMS and Utah Department of Transportation all responded to the accident.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders 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.

Ed. Note: In a previous version of this story it was reported that Gold Cross Ambulance responded to the scene; Hurricane EMS was the medical responder.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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