WASHINGTON CITY — A driver’s sudden U-turn caused a collision Thursday morning near the Interstate 15 on-ramp near Coral Canyon in Washington City.
At about 6 a.m., a passenger car was traveling northbound in the inside lane on state Route 9, where the road splits to two I-15 on-ramps, one northbound and one southbound.
There was a line of cars in the left lane, Washington City Police Public Information Officer Ed Kantor said, when the lead car slowed to make a U-turn.
This caused the cars behind it to have to slam on their brakes, Cory DeMille, a motorist driving behind the car, said.
DeMille, whose vehicle was immediately behind the U-turning car, said he pulled his white Nissan Sentra to the right, going partially into the triangular dirt area where the lanes split to avoid hitting the vehicle. The car behind DeMille’s, a black Subaru Baja, did not have room to get around him and hit the back of his car.
Washington City Police responded to the scene, ultimately giving a citation to the woman driving the Baja for following too closely.
Neither DeMille nor the woman in the Baja were injured, and neither vehicle was carrying any passengers.
“It just kind of startled me,” DeMille said. “I was jolted. It’s my first accident.”
The cars pulled off into the triangle of space where the lanes split, so traffic wasn’t affected by the accident, DeMille said.
The driver of the Baja was able to drive her car from the scene, but DeMille’s Nissan had to be towed, as the bumper was bent in against the tires and the sides were bent out like wings, Demille said. The muffler was also dragging on the ground, with the exhaust pipe almost dragging.
The police did not have a description of the car that made the U-turn, Kantor said, so they did not find or cite the driver of that vehicle.
Hurricane City Police officers were also on scene, and DeMille said he was grateful to them for taking him home after his car was towed.
This report includes preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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