ST. GEORGE — A driver taking the on-ramp slid out of control during heavy rains Saturday and was transported to the hospital along with one of her children.
Shortly before noon officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to a single-vehicle crash on the southbound Exit 6 on-ramp of Interstate 15 that involved a white Honda passenger car that crashed into the concrete barrier, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Lewis said.
Upon arrival officers found a the driver still inside of the vehicle along with four children. The woman reported that she and one of the children were injured in the crash, Lewis said. The mother and injured child were transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center.
The three remaining children were uninjured in the crash and were released to their father who responded to the crash after seeing the damaged car on the side of the on-ramp.
“The woman was meeting him and while the man was en route he saw her car and turned around,” Lewis said, “so when he arrived the uninjured children were released to him.”
During the investigation, officers determined the woman took the on-ramp intending to head south on Interstate 15 and started to hydroplane on the wet roadway. The driver then lost control of the Honda and it slid into the left concrete barrier, spun around, then smashed into the barrier to the right of the on-ramp.
Meanwhile, a passerby who witnessed the crash stopped to check on the driver and the children while emergency responders made their way to the scene and remained with the family while EMTs removed the occupants who were transported.
“It looks like she may have been driving too fast, but I haven’t spoken to the driver yet,” Lewis said, “so it’s still under investigation until we have all of the information.”
All occupants in the vehicle were properly restrained with seatbelts, the airbags deployed and the car was towed from the scene.
The Utah Highway Patrol, St. George Police, St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded and tended to the 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.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.
“Looks like she was driving too fast”…..it’s raining, you have a car full of children, slow the hell down…..Oh and Udot? How about lowering the speed limit back down to 65 in the city and 75 in the open road areas? The accident rate has gone up way too high with 80 mph, but hey why would you care, you just want to move commerce. Nothing but greed, who cares how many get hurt or killed…