Driver missing from single-car rollover near New Harmony

WASHINGTON COUNTY – A single-car rollover early Monday on Interstate 15 near New Harmony has law enforcement officers looking for the driver who apparently walked away from the crash.

Law enforcement officials found a single vehicle which rolled off Interstate 15 Monday morning. No one was inside the vehicle when officers arrived, Washington County, Utah, July 25, 2016 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News
Law enforcement officials found a single vehicle which rolled off Interstate 15 Monday morning. No one was inside the vehicle when officers arrived, Washington County, Utah, July 25, 2016 | Photo by Mike Cole, St. George News

At approximately 7:25 a.m. Monday, a motorist reported seeing a vehicle upside-down off the side of Interstate 15 near mile marker 40, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Grant Hintze said.

“We arrived on scene; found that the vehicle was completely empty,” Hintze said.

Hintze and other emergency responders searched the area around the crash for an hour and a half to make sure the driver hadn’t been ejected from the red 2008 Hyundai passenger car.

“It appears that the driver had been wearing his seatbelt. For reasons unknown, he went off the road, rolled and left the scene of the accident,” he said.

Hintze said the crash is under investigation, and it is not currently known what caused it.

“It did look like they went off the road, swerved back onto the road and then came off,” Hintze said. “That could be either from possible drinking and driving. It could also be from fatigued driving. It also could be from being distracted.”

As of 1:30 p.m., the driver had not been found, Hintze said, and law enforcement is still trying to contact the owner of the vehicle, who is believed to have been driving at the time.

“We kind of came to the conclusion that he probably was picked up due to it was evident that he had his seatbelt on, the keys were not in the ignition and very minimal blood on the scene,” Hintze said.

The driver will at least be cited for leaving the scene of an accident, Hintze said. Other citations or charges are possible depending on what is found during the investigation.

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

St. George News reporter Julie Applegate contributed to this story.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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