Car, semi crash into guardrail, prompting 3-hour closure of northbound I-15 in Cedar City

Written by Jeff Richards
January 6, 2024

CEDAR CITY — A two-vehicle crash resulted in a semi tractor-trailer being jackknifed across the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 in Cedar City on Friday night.

Scene of a semitractor-trailer crash near Interstate 15’s Exit 57, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 5, 2024 | Photo courtesy Ladd’s Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News

Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Clay Allred said the incident happened around 7:30 p.m. on northbound I-15 near Exit 57 and involved a white Ford sedan and a semi truck, with each vehicle having a female driver as its only occupant.

Allred said the driver of the Ford was attempting to get off the interstate at Exit 57 when she lost control.

“The vehicle left its lane to the left into the gore area between the off ramp and main flow,” Allred told Cedar City News, adding, “The Ford hit the end section of the guardrail and spun out, coming to rest on the interstate between both lanes of travel.”

Allred said the approaching semi driver saw what was happening and took evasive action by driving into the median to avoid hitting the Ford.

“The semi driver lost control and hit the end section of the guardrail in the median and then she overcorrected to the right,” Allred said. “The semi came to rest blocking both lanes and the shoulder of northbound main flow.”

Scene of a semitractor-trailer crash near Interstate 15’s Exit 57, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 5, 2024 | Photo courtesy Ladd’s Towing, St. George News / Cedar City News

The semi driver wasn’t injured but the Ford driver was transported to the hospital for evaluation, Allred reported.

Allred said contributing factors to the crash were that the Ford’s tires lacked sufficient tread and that its driver likely was traveling too fast for the road conditions present.

“Equipment issues are really big this time of year,” Allred said. “Having proper tires, your windshield scraped and having good wiper blades, all those things play a pretty crucial role in keeping people safe.”

The incident prompted a full closure of northbound I-15 for approximately three hours, with traffic being diverted off the interstate at Exit 57 and back on at Exit 59.

“About 10:30, they started opening lanes,” Allred added.

During the recovery operation, portions of which can be seen in the video player above, tow truck operators had to cut the guardrail and use multiple winches to extricate the semi truck and its trailer.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons and one granddaughter. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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