HURRICANE – A man was transported to the hospital Wednesday afternoon after falling asleep at the wheel, which resulted in his vehicle leaving the roadway and launching into a traffic signal pole on State Street in Hurricane, causing the pole to fall over.
Around 2:17 p.m., an 18-year-old man was driving a tan Toyota Prius east on state Route 9, approaching the light at 2260 West, Hurricane City Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said.
“The vehicle left the roadway and traveled on the side of the roadway and hit a berm,” Buell said, “which launched the vehicle off the ground and hit into the traffic pole. … The impact of the car hitting the pole sheared off the bottom of the pole, and so it was leaning over for quite some time.”
The driver told police he fell asleep and the vehicle drifted off the roadway, Buell said.
The man sustained minor injuries in the collision and was transported by ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George in stable condition.
“The driver was wearing his seat belt, and that was definitely a good thing,” Buell said.
“If not, I think the injuries would have been a lot worse,” he added.
The man was the only occupant of the vehicle. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The collision severed the traffic signal pole and caused it to tip over, ultimately necessitating complete removal of the pole by the Utah Department of Transportation.
“The impact caused the signals to flash continuously red in all directions,” Buell said. “When this happens, drivers must treat the intersection as a four-way stop.”
Traffic was and will continue to be impacted because of the damage, Buell said, adding that Rlington Parkway at 2260 W. State St. was expected to be closed for a substantial amount of time, and that UDOT would be working to get the lights fixed as quickly as possible.
As this report is published, no citations have been issued as a result of the collision.
“There’s no indicators of drug or alcohol use at all,” Buell said.
Hurricane City Police, Hurricane Valley Fire, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and UDOT responded to assist at the accident scene.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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