ST. GEORGE — A roadwork crew escaped injury after a semitractor-trailer drifted out of its lane and crashed into their work truck early Friday morning.

Shortly after 6 a.m., emergency personnel were dispatched to the two-vehicle crash on northbound I-15 near mile marker 29 just north of Toquerville involving a semi and a Utah Department of Transportation work truck.

Troopers arrived to find the semi wedged against the UDOT truck and diesel fuel leaking across the roadway.

At the time of the crash, the semi was heading north on I-15 approaching a section of the highway under construction, Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Lars Gardner said.

“Road crews had been working on that particular section where they finished up a micro-surfacing project and were repainting the lines,” he said.

After retrieving orange traffic barrels used for the lane closure and then stacking them in the work truck’s trailer, the road crew pulled into the outside lane to continue north on the interstate.

Meanwhile, Gardner said the semi drifted from the center lane into the outside lane, where it struck the trailer of the slower-moving work truck and became wedged against the truck.

The impact punched a hole in the UDOT truck’s fuel cell, sending diesel fuel spilling across the roadway.

“There were no injuries, but the biggest issue with the crash was the cleanup,” Gardner said.

Clean-up efforts were handled by an engine crew from Hurricane Valley Fire District and UDOT’s Incident Management Team. With assistance from the uninjured the road crew workers, responders dumped kitty litter on the spill to soak up the fuel, which was later swept up and removed.

After more than three hours, the lanes were cleared and reopened for travel.

The two vehicles were heavily damaged and were subsequently towed from the roadway. The driver of the semi was later cited by police.

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