Married couple transported to hospital after driving under semi on I-15; STGnews Videocast

HURRICANE — A man and his wife were transported to the hospital Tuesday after driving their car under a semitrailer during a collision on Interstate 15.

At approximately 4:13 p.m., Utah Highway Patrol troopers responded to a collision on southbound I-15, between mileposts 17 and 18, involving a gold Hyundai Elantra and a semitrailer, UHP Sgt. Danny Ferguson said.

Emergency wokers guide in a tow truck to remove the Hyundai involved in an accident on Interstate-15, Washington County, Utah, March 10, 2015 | Photo by Devan Chavez, St. George News
Emergency workers guide in a tow truck to remove the Hyundai involved in a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, March 10, 2015 | Photo by Devan Chavez, St. George News

A woman driving the semitrailer was in the right-hand lane of the Interstate with another car traveling slightly behind her in the left-hand lane.

The man driving the Hyundai came up behind the two at a higher rate of speed in the right-hand lane, Ferguson said. The man attempted to change lanes and apparently did not see the car in the left lane.

The woman driving the car in the left lane moved over into the left shoulder to try to give the Hyundai room to get by, Ferguson said, but by the time the man saw her, it was too late. He jerked his wheel and overcorrected, causing the Hyundai to go off into the center divider.

“As they came back on from the center divider they went underneath the back of the semi,” Ferguson said.

The Hyundai was not able to go completely under the semi, Ferguson said, but significant damage was done to the passenger side of the car.

The Hyundai eventually came to rest on the left side of the road.

UHP, Utah Department of Transportation, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Leeds Fire and Rescue and Leeds Area Ambulance all responded to the scene.

Responders shut down the left lane of southbound I-15 near the collision, but traffic was allowed to continue through the right lane.

Emergency workers assess the damage of a Hyundai involved in an accident with a semi truck on Interstate-15, Washington County, Utah, March 10, 2015 | Photo by Devan Chavez, St. George News
A man and his wife were transported to the hospital after colliding with a semitrailer on southbound Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, March 10, 2015 | Photo by Devan Chavez, St. George News

Both the man and his wife were transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Ferguson said. Both appeared to be in fair condition and were speaking with responders on scene but were complaining of some pain.

There was also a large dog in the Hyundai with the married couple, Ferguson said. The dog appeared to be fine but did have a small gash above its right eye.

While no citations have been issued, Ferguson said it is likely the man driving the Hyundai will be held at least partially at fault.

As a caution to other drivers, Ferguson said he urges motorist not to drive faster than they can reasonably control. All to often, he said, people are driving too fast on interstates and highways to be able to see everything going on around them.

“Don’t drive faster than you can see,” Ferguson said.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by the authorities and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Related Posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

6 Comments

  • laytonian March 10, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    Good thing they were MARRIED!
    What’s wrong with “Couple…..”

    • K March 11, 2015 at 9:11 am

      K

    • tcrider March 11, 2015 at 10:31 am

      if they are not married, they would of simply be identified as sinners.

      the bottom line is, you will see many idiots driving at a speed that they cannot control their vehicle, for some reason there is alot of them around saint george, and I cannot believe the amount of people that do not use blinkers and that roll through stop signs. The cops probably don’t stop them because they are on their way to another call for a accident.

    • Mesaizacd March 11, 2015 at 7:22 pm

      Psssssssssst this is Utah so it had to be proper…. ( joke.)

  • Allie March 12, 2015 at 11:17 am

    Would be interesting to know if the car in the left hand lane was actually passing the truck, or if they were just cruising along like they have no care in the world. The left hand lane is for passing, but many people just go over there to sight see and hold up traffic trying to pass. Pass and move back to the right people.

  • Robb March 12, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    This is SO Utah, especially Southern Utah. I don’t miss driving in the Land of the Tailgaters. People in Southern Utah are such good people generally, why do they turn into such jerks when they get behind the wheel?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.