ST. GEORGE — A crash into a tree along Interstate 15 sent a driver to the hospital Monday afternoon. 

The driver of a gray Toyota Corolla was traveling south on I-15 around mile marker 25 just south of Toquerville when he apparently drifted off the road in the outside lane, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Mike Murphy said.

The driver told police he was not looking at the road when he started drifting. 

“By the accident marks that we’ve located, it looks like he possibly drifted off the left shoulder and overcorrected, came to the right and ended up in the tree,” Murphy said. 

The incident may have been aggravated by the vehicle’s tire treads being below wear. Impairment is not suspected. 

The driver was wearing his seat belt at the time of the incident, and the airbags deployed on impact. 

The driver did not appear to be significantly injured but was transported to the hospital for precautionary evaluation. 

“They are going to transport him to be checked out just for observation purposes,” Murphy said. “He said that he started feeling a little bit of neck soreness and whatnot. He hit the tree pretty hard.” 

The driver will likely receive citations for failure to operate within a single lane and for an equipment violation. 

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