Single vehicle accident on Highway 59 brings traffic to a standstill

HURRICANE — A single-vehicle accident involving a 2013 Hyundai Elantra on Highway 59 above Hurricane brought traffic to a standstill Tuesday morning.

Around 10:40 a.m., the driver of the Hyundai, a 72-year old woman, left the roadway around milepost 20 as she was traveling west on SR-59 and lost control in the soft dirt of the shoulder. She then slid down the embankment and struck a concrete culvert. The Hyundai became airborne and slammed into another embankment and rolled onto the passenger side, sliding down approximately 25 feet before coming to a rest, Hurricane Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said.

“Fortunately … she was wearing a seat belt, the airbags were deployed in the car and she only had minor injuries,” Buell said. “She did have to be helped out of the vehicle with assistance but no extrication was needed.”

Traffic was impacted for approximately one hour, Buell said, with the roadway being diverted into one lane during that time. Officers took turns allowing each direction of travel to pass while the accident was cleaned up and the vehicle removed.

No citations were issued. No other factors were cited in the accident.

The driver of the Hyundai was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

Hurricane Police Department and Hurricane Valley Fire District responded the incident.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, 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

  • debbie January 19, 2016 at 6:20 pm

    our 2004 hyundai elantra drove so gooooooood and stayed straight every heavy snow i got caught in, on 59 between apple valley and hurricane. there were cars slid about and mine was just so steady. i always felt safe in it even tho its little.. but i do know ppl have died in them.. this lady was really lucky..

    • IDIOT COMMENTERS January 19, 2016 at 11:37 pm

      best car ever made, huh?

  • IDIOT COMMENTERS January 19, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    sounds like “improper lane travel”. open book test time

    • .... January 19, 2016 at 10:09 pm

      The open book test takes time because they have to color the cartoons in the book

  • Bender January 20, 2016 at 12:31 pm

    Wow, those ain’t your father’s crumple zones. Modern cars take a lickin and keep you in one piece. Impressive no one was killed.

    • Bender January 20, 2016 at 12:32 pm

      Whoops editor, commented on wrong wreck. This was meant for the I-15 UHP/Camaro dust up.

Leave a Reply

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