WASHINGTON COUNTY — A driver took out nearly 190 feet of guardrail on Interstate 15 with two juvenile passengers in the car in a rollover that ended in arrest early Saturday morning.
Shortly before 1 a.m. officers and emergency personnel responded to the incident on southbound Interstate 15 near Exit 16 that involved a red Dodge Charger carrying three occupants, Washington City Police spokesman Ed Kantor said.
Upon arrival officers found the Charger blocking both southbound lanes of travel with the driver and passengers outside of the car.
One of the juvenile passengers suffered minor facial injury in the crash, and all three were evaluated at the scene by paramedics from Washington City Fire Department. No other injuries were reported.
After speaking with the driver and witnesses, officers determined that the driver was traveling south on I-15 when the car veered to the left and struck the guardrail where it continued until the car veered sharply to the right. At that point, it began to roll, according to several witnesses.
The car finally stopped after striking the guardrail on the outside shoulder and was sent spinning until it came to rest in an upright position in the middle of the road.
More than 160 feet of guardrail was damaged on the inside shoulder, in addition to the 25 feet of guardrail on the outside shoulder.
Once the car struck the guardrail, several of the wooden posts securing it gave way, hurling rocks and debris across the roadway, according to one witness at the scene.
Once the Utah Department of Transportation’s Incident Management Team arrived, they were able to push the Charger out of the inside lane to clear the way for the line of cars that had backed up behind the scene.
Impairment was suspected as contributing to the crash, Kantor said, and the driver submitted to a field sobriety test and was later arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility for suspicion of driving under the influence.
The out-of-state driver of the Charger was traveling with other vehicles, Kantor said, adding that the two juveniles were released to a responsible party from the group.
“No one was transported and no injuries were reported, so it turned out as best as it could,” Kantor said.
Personnel from Washington City Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Washington City Fire Department, Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue and the UDOT’s Incident Management Team responded and tended to the scene.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact. This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Ed. note: CORRECTION made: This report on first publish identified the red car as a Chevrolet; it was in fact a Dodge. Report revised accordingly.
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Guardrail on the left shoulder of Interstate 15 southbound is damaged by vehicle in early morning rollover Saturday, Washington City, Utah, July 8, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Approximately 165 feet of guardrail on the left shoulder of Interstate 15 southbound is damaged by vehicle in early morning rollover Saturday, Washington City, Utah, July 8, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Approximately 25 feet of guardrail on the right shoulder of Interstate 15 southbound is damaged by vehicle in early morning rollover Saturday, Washington City, Utah, July 8, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Washington County Sheriff's Office and UDOT Incident Management Team responds to early morning rollover on I-15 Saturday, Washington City, Utah, July 8, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News UDOT Incident Management Team responds to early morning rollover on I-15 and clears traffic lane Saturday, Washington City, Utah, July 8, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News A red Dodge Charger is towed after rollover on I-15 early Saturday morning takes out approximately 190 feet of guardrail, Washington City, Utah, July 8, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Approximately 25 feet of guardrail on the right shoulder of Interstate 15 southbound is damaged by vehicle in early morning rollover Saturday, Washington City, Utah, July 8, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News
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That would be a red Dodge Challenger, just sayin’
I’m gonna say it: what’s going on with all the rollovers? Too many in a week
“Ed note”….yeah a Dodge Challenger……just hope that the state and Udot makes her pay for the damage instead of “we the people of Utah”…..1 am? Sleepy? …glad they are all ok, but charge her insurance for the damage to the guard rail, don’t need my taxes going up any more that they already are