ST. GEORGE — A wrong-way driver entered Interstate 15 early Sunday morning resulting in a head-on crash that killed both drivers on impact, officials said.
Corporal Quincey Breuer with the Utah Highway Patrol said at approximately 1:04 a.m., a passenger car occupied by a single occupant entered I-15 the wrong way at exit 27. The vehicle entered the freeway southbound in the northbound lanes and approximately five miles later, at mile marker 22, struck another passenger car occupied by a single individual.
“That initial vehicle that was going the wrong way struck that second vehicle head-on,” Breuer said. “And both drivers died on impact. It’s just terrible.”
The crash is currently under investigation. Due to the circumstances, Breuer said impairment is being looked at as a possible factor.
“If somebody chooses to drink, make sure that you’re getting a designated driver,” he said. “Make that decision that if you’re going to drive — you choose to drive sober.”
Breuer said commuters should also always wear their seatbelts and obey posted speed limits, factors that have been an issue state-wide.
“Speed and seat belts are the number one and two cause of fatalities on the roadways in Utah,” he said. “So those play big factors in keeping people safe.”
On Thursday, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden released the identities of the two drivers who were killed as Victoria E. Schoenheide, 33, of Parowan, and Victor De Le Cruz, 30, of Riverside, California. Schoenheide was driving a Pontiac passenger car, while De Le Cruz was driving a Hyundai, Roden added.
This report is based on statements from police and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Updated Feb. 16, 10:30 p.m. to include the identities of the two drivers.
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