ST. GEORGE — A teen driver and three passengers escaped serious injury Sunday after police say the onset of a seizure caused the driver lose to control of his truck near an Interstate 15 off-ramp.
Utah Highway Patrol responded to the single-vehicle crash a few minutes before 2 p.m. on southbound I-15 at the Exit 6 off-ramp involving a red Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
Gold Cross paramedics arrived and found the driver experiencing a medical condition, UHP Trooper James Neighbor said. He was quickly transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. The three passengers reported no injuries.
The truck was southbound and was exiting the interstate when the driver started to have a seizure, Neighbor said.
While the driver was incapacitated, the pickup truck proceeded forward until it struck a sign post.
The truck went off the shoulder of the interstate and continued forward on a straight path along the rocky slope below the off-ramp until it came to rest about 25 feet below the shoulder.
“Once he hit the sign, the truck went off to the left and continued along the embankment until it slowed to a stop,” Neighbor said. “Thankfully it did, because had the driver been going faster, it could have continued forward until it jumped the barrier and then ended up back on the interstate, and who knows what could have happened then.”
Looking at the undisturbed gravel along the truck’s path, Neighbor said it appeared that the driver was already slowing down to exit the interstate at the onset of the medical episode, which proved helpful in keeping the truck on a steady path, instead of rolling down the steep embankment.
Troopers learned that the driver was returning home to Henderson, Nevada, when the crash occurred.
“This was really the best outcome for what happened,” Neighbor said. “The driver’s at the hospital, there were no other vehicles involved, no injuries to the passengers and no impact on traffic, so it ended well.”
The damage to the pickup was confined to the driver’s side front end and a shattered windshield that popped out of its frame and was located a few feet from the truck. The truck was later towed away.
No citations have been issued at this time.
This report is based on statements from police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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Red Chevrolet pickup truck comes to rest 25 feet below the off-ramp of southbound Interstate 15 on Exit 6 during a single-vehicle crash, St. George, Utah, Sept. 23, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Gold Cross Ambulance transports a driver after a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 15 at Exit 6, St. George, Utah, Sept. 23, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Red Chevrolet pickup truck comes to rest 25 feet below the off-ramp of southbound Interstate 15 on Exit 6 during a single-vehicle crash, St. George, Utah, Sept. 23, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News A signpost rests on its side after it was hit by a truck on Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Sept. 23, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News
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Yup I saw this and the driver of the red truck was weaving in and out of traffic way before the crash, I wonder if that was a medical condition also?