ST. GEORGE — Three vehicle crashes in Southern Utah on Tuesday were caused by drivers traveling too fast for icy conditions on Interstate 15, a Utah Highway Patrol spokesman said.
“Our No. 1 cause for accidents during adverse weather conditions is drivers going too fast for the conditions,” Utah Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Sgt. Cameron Roden said. “And so it’s a good reminder for all drivers to slow down when there are slick, wet or icy conditions. And if we do that, it will be the No. 1 thing to help us avoid a collision.”
Roden said the occupants in the vehicles were lucky there were no injuries, likely due to them all wearing seat belts, which he reiterated keep drivers safe on the roadways.
The first incident occurred at 7:50 a.m. at milepost 42 near New Harmony. Roden said the driver of an unknown vehicle from a hit-and-run was traveling too fast for the conditions and lost control. It spun around and impacted a second vehicle, a Honda Pilot.
He said it appeared the unknown vehicle went off the road to the left side of the highway and came to a stop and then left the scene. The Honda Pilot went off the road to the right and came to a stop on the shoulder. The vehicle was driven by a 61-year-old Cedar City male who didn’t sustain any injuries.
The second crash happened just after 8 a.m. approximately one mile south of Exit 42 near New Harmony. Roden said a GMC Sierra pickup truck was traveling northbound near milepost 41 and lost control because the driver was traveling too fast for the conditions.
“The pickup truck — the GMC left its lane and ran off the road to the left, where it hit the cable barrier and overturned,” Roden said.
The truck’s driver was a 52-year-old male out of Washington, Utah, and was the only person in that vehicle.
Then at 3:41 p.m., a Honda Civic reportedly was going too fast, hydroplaned and crossed all three travel lanes and went off the right shoulder and down an embankment.
Both people inside were wearing seat belts and didn’t sustain any injuries. Roden said the driver was a 31-year-old male out of Palmer, Texas, and the passenger was an 8-year-old female.
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