WASHINGTON COUNTY — Driving a bit too fast and getting distracted are believed to be factors in a single-vehicle rollover that took place on southbound Interstate 15 Saturday afternoon.
Around 4:30 p.m., units from the Utah Highway Patrol and Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a rollover accident around milepost 25 on southbound I-15. What they found was a car that had been flipped onto its top near the roadway.
The driver, an adult man, told the UHP he had been driving around 90 mph in an 80 mph zone when he went to light a cigarette, UHP Trooper Matthew Pratt said. The driver ended up dropping the cigarette which resulted in the car going off the road. The driver over-corrected and rolled the car.
Witnesses to the crash told the UHP the driver looked like he was going over 95-plus mph when the accident occurred, Pratt said.
The driver was wearing his seat belt and managed to escape injury and get out of the car before UHP arrived.
“Even at 80 miles an hour, make sure you have full attention on your driving,” Pratt said. “Eighty miles an hour is very fast.”
The car had to be towed away and the driver was given citations for failure to operate in a single lane and driving with a suspended license.
A second accident occurred near milepost 26 on southbound I-15 while UHP was responding to the rollover. The second accident involved one car rear-ending another as the lead car was slowing for traffic that was being diverted around the original accident.
No injuries resulted from the second collision.
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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A driver rolled his car after dropping a cigarette while going around 90 mph on southbound I-15 near milepost 26, Washington County, Utah, Dec. 19, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A driver rolled his car after dropping a cigarette while going around 90 mph on southbound I-15 near milepost 26, Washington County, Utah, Dec. 19, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A driver rolled his car after dropping a cigarette while going around 90 mph on southbound I-15 near milepost 26, Washington County, Utah, Dec. 19, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A driver rolled his car after dropping a cigarette while going around 90 mph on southbound I-15 near milepost 26, Washington County, Utah, Dec. 19, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A driver rolled his car after dropping a cigarette while going around 90 mph on southbound I-15 near milepost 26, Washington County, Utah, Dec. 19, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A driver rolled his car after dropping a cigarette while going around 90 mph on southbound I-15 near milepost 26, Washington County, Utah, Dec. 19, 2015 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
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Twitter: @MoriKessler
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.
Yep, smoke smoke that cigarette ?. Just good he did not hurt anyone because Leagle Cancer Causing,Smelly Filthy Drug. Arrest Him if he using Cannabus though???
Cannabis smells better than cigarettes. Use to hate the smell of skunk until the 80’s haha
OK . go take a nap. One is legal. One is not.
who are you,?? afraid to Register your name legal or not?? one Kills You and one is MEDICINE
Take a nap cry baby ..whaaaaa.whaaaaaaa one is legal one is not
Was he drunk, stoned or just an idiot?
Was he charged with littering??
Was he changed for illegal parking ?