ST. GEORGE — First responders and incident management crews responded to an accident on Snow Canyon Parkway just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

St. George Police Officer Tiffany Atkin told St. George News the driver of a gold Cadillac XT5 was driving east on Snow Canyon Parkway near 1400 West when he lost control of his vehicle.

The elderly man behind the wheel told officials he had looked away from the road to look at his temperature gauge when he lost control. The car swerved off to the right side of the road, hitting the median and striking trees and vegetation.

No injuries were reported, and the driver was cited for careless driving. The vehicle was rendered disabled and towed from the scene.

Atkin said Snow Canyon Parkway has become a dangerous road due to the high speeds at which people travel despite the speed limits in place.

To counter the frequency of drivers traveling above the speed limit, Atkin said there are certain times of the day that the St. George Police Department focuses on traffic-related incidents. Officers are also focusing on traffic when they are not actively responding to accidents or crimes.

“It’s up to everybody,” Atkin said. “If everyone would choose not to speed, we wouldn’t have to do this. By writing citations, the expectation is that will change behavior. When people have to pay for it and it affects their insurance rates, we’re hoping by that — if nothing else will help — that will to deter people from breaking traffic laws.”

Local law enforcement and incident management crews worked to redirect traffic while first responders cleared the scene. Eastbound traffic on Snow Canyon Parkway was completely blocked while westbound traffic was limited to one lane.

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