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CEDAR CITY — A head-on collision Thursday afternoon on state Route 20 in Iron County injured three people, including one passenger who was transported to the hospital by medical helicopter.
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Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jake Barton said the outcome would have likely been different if those involved had not been wearing their seat belts.
“Everybody probably would have been injured extremely worse or would have died in this situation if they weren’t wearing their seat belt,” Barton told Cedar City News. “It was not a light crash, that’s for sure.”
The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. at a sharp curve on SR-20 at approximately mile marker 10, roughly the midway point of the 20-mile highway that stretches between Interstate 15 at Exit 95 in northern Iron County and U.S. 89 in Garfield County.
The two vehicles involved were a blue Honda Civic that had been heading east and a westbound black Honda CRV. The Civic veered into oncoming traffic lanes and struck CRV, Barton said.
“Speeds were a contributing factor,” he said.
The adult female in the front passenger seat of the CRV sustained injuries to her head and neck and was transported via Life Flight helicopter to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, Barton reported.
“She had sustained enough injuries and we were worried about her health enough to call Life Flight and have it come and land up here and take her,” he said.
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The adult male driver of the CRV was transported by ground ambulance to Cedar City Hospital for treatment.
“He had minor injuries to some of his extremities and was a little bit sore from the whole thing,” Barton said, adding that the man was expected to be released from the hospital shortly.
Meanwhile, the adult male driver of the Civic sustained injuries that were also believed to be minor. He was taken to Garfield Memorial Hospital in Panguitch for evaluation.
Barton added that while the Civic driver was the only person in his vehicle, he was accompanied by his pet dog, a pit bull that did not appear to suffer any injuries.
Both cars sustained heavy front-end damage and were towed from the scene.
Traffic in the area was impacted for approximately two hours while responders worked to clear the scene. Utah Department of Transportation workers assisted with coordinating traffic going through one direction at a time, on an alternating basis. All traffic was stopped in both directions for approximately 45 minutes to allow access for the tow trucks and the helicopter.
Barton said Thursday evening the incident is still under investigation but added that possible citations may be pending.
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