CEDAR CITY — At least two dozen crashes, including a pileup involving several vehicles, were reported along Interstate 15 in Iron County on Tuesday as a Valentine’s Day snowstorm blanketed the area.
Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Randy Riches said on Wednesday he didn’t have an exact tally but that the early afternoon pileup is believed to have involved as many as one dozen semitractor-trailers, plus three passenger vehicles.
And while the chain-reaction crash left the wreckage of several semi trucks and trailers blocking the roadway, several other drivers didn’t stick around, Riches told Cedar City News.
“There were multiple other semis involved which either caused the crash or had minor damage and did not remain on scene,” Riches said. “Troopers are still working to piece all of the details together and track down vehicles and drivers.”
The pileup reportedly occurred between 12:30 and 1 p.m., just as a heavy snow squall was passing through the area. The incident prompted a complete shutdown of northbound I-15 for approximately three hours, with traffic being detoured at exits 42 and 51 and onto frontage roads.
“The full closure lasted until about 3:30 p.m. and then we had intermittent and single-lane closures for another couple hours,” Riches said. “Fortunately, we didn’t have any serious injuries. It’s always a good day when everyone goes home safe.”
That midday incident was among the numerous crashes, slide-offs and collisions reported on I-15 throughout the day in Iron County, according to dispatch logs. Among them:
- A multi-vehicle collision on northbound I-15 near the Exit 75 offramp in Parowan around 9 a.m., in which one vehicle reportedly struck some fencing and then was hit by two other vehicles.
- A semi crash near the Exit 57 overpass in Cedar City shortly before noon.
- Ten midafternoon crashes within a two-hour period starting just before 2 p.m., including eight on the northbound side within a three-mile stretch, between mile markers 49 and 52. The other two were a southbound Honda CRV that rolled into the median at mile marker 73 around 2 p.m. and a southbound Cadillac that reportedly crashed near mile marker 60 in Cedar City a few minutes later.
- Later in the evening, the dispatch log also recorded a slide-off just after 5 p.m., a crash at about 6:30 p.m. and a motorist assist call just after 8:30 p.m., all in the area of mile markers 42-43, near the New Harmony exit.
Ladd Brindley, owner of Ladd’s Towing, told Cedar City News that he and his employees were kept busy throughout the day on Tuesday; he also noted they were called out to recover a jackknifed semi on northbound I-15 near mile marker 42 on Wednesday morning.
Brindley shared a few photos of that crash, as well as pictures of a few of the wrecked vehicles from Tuesday’s pileup, which can be viewed in the gallery below.
Photo Gallery
Tow truck crews work to remove wrecked vehicles from the scene of a chain-reaction crash near mile marker 52 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 14, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News Tow truck crews work to remove wrecked vehicles from the scene of a chain-reaction crash near mile marker 52 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 14, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News Tow truck crews work to remove wrecked vehicles from the scene of a chain-reaction crash near mile marker 52 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 14, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News Tow truck crews work to remove wrecked vehicles from the scene of a chain-reaction crash near mile marker 52 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 14, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News Tow truck crews work to remove a jackknifed semi near mile marker 42 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News Tow truck crews work to remove a jackknifed semi near mile marker 42 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News Tow truck crews work to remove a jackknifed semi near mile marker 42 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News Tow truck crews work to remove a jackknifed semi near mile marker 42 on Interstate 15, Iron County, Utah, Feb. 15, 2023 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News
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