ST. GEORGE— Police say an intoxicated driver traveled approximately 40 miles in the wrong direction on Interstate 15 early Wednesday morning, running another vehicle off the road before being stopped near St. George.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Larry Mower told St. George News that police received a call at 3 a.m. Wednesday reporting a red Ford Windstar minivan driving south on the northbound side of I-15.
“She was intoxicated, and she started coming southbound in the northbound lanes from somewhere in Iron County,” Mower said. “I’m not exactly sure where.”
One vehicle went off the road and into a barrier in Iron County after swerving to avoid hitting the minivan. The vehicle received minor damages from the incident, and the driver was uninjured.
UHP has a policy against vehicle pursuits when a driver is traveling the wrong way on a street. Instead, in this incident, troopers drove in front of the minivan being driven by a woman later identified as Alicia Monroy of Cedar City, with their warning lights on in an attempt to warn other drivers on the road that there was danger ahead.
“When she had seen the officer’s lights she actually put on her turn signal and moved over, almost as if she was abiding by the slow down move over law,” Mower said.
Hurricane Police officers laid road spikes down near Exit 16 that popped the minivan’s tires and stopped the vehicle.
Monroy was not injured during the incident, though her vehicle did have minor damages on the driver’s side. Police are unsure when the vehicle was damaged and suspect that she drifted into a barrier at some point.
Troopers found an open container of alcohol in the vehicle and determined that Monroy was intoxicated. She was placed under arrest and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.
Monroy was charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, failure to remain at the scene of an accident and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle. She is being held on $3,600 bail.
This report is based on statements from police and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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