ST. GEORGE — Fatigue and speeding are being cited as factors in a collision on northbound Interstate 15 Thursday night that sent two vehicles careening off the roadway and resulted in two people going to the hospital.
The Utah Highway Patrol was alerted to the collision around 10 p.m., and troopers responded to I-15 just north of the Brigham Road/Exit 4 interchange on-ramp where they found a Hyundai Tucson SUV and a Chevrolet Camaro far off the eastern shoulder of the roadway. Each vehicle had sustained heavy damage.
The driver of the Camaro told UHP he had fallen asleep at the wheel while traveling at a high rate of speed – possibly 90 mph – when his vehicle rear-ended the Tucson, UHP Trooper Grant Hintze told St. George News at the scene.
The Tucson was reportedly going the speed limit when the collision occurred, Hintze said.
The impact caused both vehicles to shoot across I-15 and off the right shoulder, down an embankment and over a cluster of large rocks before finally coming to a stop on the opposite embankment.
The Tucson became high-centered on a large rock while the Camaro ended up having one of its wheels ripped off along the way.
The Camaro’s driver had been wearing a seat belt and was uninjured, Hintze said, while an older man and woman in the Tucson were taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center for a minor head wound and back pain respectively. Another woman and young boy in the Tucson were unharmed.
While a citation had yet to be issued at the time Hintze spoke to St. George News, he said speeding and fatigued driving would likely be related to a citation that would be given to the Camaro’s driver.
This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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Aftermath of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 15 by Exit 4, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 15 by Exit 4, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 15 by Exit 4, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 15 by Exit 4, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 15 by Exit 4, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 15 by Exit 4, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 15 by Exit 4, St. George, Utah, July 11, 2019 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
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