ST. GEORGE — Southern Utah law enforcement and firefighters had a busy Sunday evening with two separate incidents near New Harmony.
A woman, identified as Vicki Burgos, was traveling south on Interstate 15 near New Harmony when she “all of a sudden noticed a problem” while driving a white Toyota Camry, New Harmony Fire Chief Jim Banks told St. George News.
Burgos pulled over to the right shoulder as the car was smoking, and she said Washington County Sheriff Deputy Robert Keith saw what was happened.
“(He) whipped around, pulled over, opened my door, grabbed my arm and told me to get out,” Burgos told St. George News. “If he hadn’t been there, I don’t know how this would have went. … Thank God he was in that spot at that time. I would just like him to get recognition and all the first responders.”
No injuries were reported.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers were passing by on their way to another incident when they spotted the fire, calling it in shortly after 4:30 p.m. Banks said firefighters got the flames under control in about 10 minutes, and “fortunately, it didn’t spread to the brush.”
The fire appears to have started in the engine compartment, but the cause is currently under investigation, Banks said.
“It does seem that when the weather starts to warm up, we get an increase in vehicle fires,” he added. “And you know, the important thing is to make sure you got the ability to pull over — pull safely out of the lanes of traffic, preferably over to the right shoulder and exit — get out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.
“Don’t worry about your personal belongings or anything else that may be in the vehicle. Your life is more important than anything that’s in the car, and fire and heat can spread very quickly. So just get out of the vehicle, call 911 and let us come assist you.”
Southbound traffic experienced delays as first responders worked the scene. Banks said that as lanes began to reopen at about 5:15 p.m., they received reports of a second incident near Exit 40.
A young woman driving a blue Subaru Outback reportedly rear-ended a truck that had stopped due to the road closures.
While the driver didn’t sustain any apparent injuries, due to the crash’s severity and the speed of the collision, she was transported to St. George Regional Hospital via a Gold Cross ambulance as a precaution, Banks said.
As the crash was cleared shortly before 6:30 p.m., Banks said that traffic was reported to be moving again.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Hurricane Valley Fire District also responded to the scene.
St. George News reporter Jeff Richards contributed to this story.
Updated, April 30, 8:25 p.m., to include additional information.
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