WASHINGTON COUNTY — A teenage driver escaped serious injury after rear-ending a semitractor whose driver slowed down to avoid a mattress laying in the roadway on Interstate 15 Thursday evening.
Troopers from Utah Highway Patrol responded to the incident at approximately 7:30 p.m. just south of Exit 16 on the southbound lane of Interstate 15.
A single cab semitractor and a white Honda passenger car were merging onto southbound Interstate 15 from the SR 9 on-ramp.
As the semi’s 37-year-old male driver came upon the mattress and its metal base laying in the roadway where the ramp and freeway merge, he slowed down to avoid hitting the mattress. The teenage driver of the Honda was unable to react in time and rear-ended the semi, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Pastor said.
Occupants of both vehicles were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. Airbags deployed in the Honda.
One of the two occupants of the passenger car, a teenage girl, sustained superficial injuries related to the airbag deployment. She was examined by emergency personnel from Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue and then released to her mother, Pastor said.
No one in the semi was injured, and the truck did not appear to be damaged. The Honda sustained some minor damage to its front end and was towed away, having been rendered inoperable after airbags deployed.
No citations were issued.
“This is a common occurrence that happens here on our roadways here in Utah. People don’t secure their loads good enough,” Pastor said.
He said similar incidents involving debris in the roadway have resulted in fatalities and the people involved in this crash were fortunate to leave without major injury.
“If you’re making trips, either moving or long distance trips, with any kind of equipment or household goods or anything you’re towing in a load, make sure that it is tied down and preferably tarped over,” Pastor said, “and periodically stop to make sure those tie-downs are secure.”
Authorities do not know how the mattress came to be on the freeway. Washington County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to the incident.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or first 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.
A mattress lies on the side of the road after causing a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
A mattress lies on the side of the road after causing a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
The metal base of a mattress lies on the side of the road after causing a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
A white Honda passenger car is damaged after a mattress in the road caused a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
A white Honda passenger car is damaged after a mattress in the road caused a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
A white Honda passenger car is damaged after a mattress in the road caused a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
Emergency personnel respond to a collision caused by a mattress on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
Emergency personnel respond to a collision caused by a mattress on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
Emergency personnel respond to a collision caused by a mattress on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
A white Honda passenger car is towed after a mattress in the road caused a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
A mattress lies on the side of the road after causing a collision on Interstate 15, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 10, 2016 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
Oh my golly gee whiz this is terrible. Where will RealLowlife sleep now ?
With your mom.
Come on editors, that was funny. Even his mom would have gotten a good laugh.
Ha ha you got edited !
Just before this accident I had stopped at the Maverick on the other side of the freeway. As I came out of the store. there was a homeless individual mumbling something or other about someone stealing his mattress.
I just thought he was inebriated and didn’t pay much mind to him.
It’s all so clear now.
Yeah it seems somebody stood RealLowlife’s mattress lol ! Oh this is gonna be good. ! LOL that’s some funny stuff right there
New headline: Stolen mattress causes collision….who stole his mattress? Give that man a mattress it’s all he has #fundraiser
Did anyone see it ?? Someone following the vehicle that lost must have seen something, unless it was dark and near the site.. Following too close to the truck, should have slowed down
if your unsecured load falls into the road you are liable for any and all damages in causes
so does that mean that RealLowlife will be getting a citation for littering by mattress ? LOL ! That’s funny stuff right there !