Minivan driver hospitalized after striking ‘crash cushion’ of concrete barrier on I-15

ST. GEORGE — A driver was transported to the hospital following a two-vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 15 near the Bluff Street Exit – a crash intercepted by a safety feature attached to one of the concrete barriers alongside the road.

Toyota minivan is towed following a two-vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 15 near the Bluff Street off-ramp, St. George, Utah, June 3, 2021 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Shortly after 8 a.m., officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to a crash reported just south of Exit 6 involving a white Toyota minivan and a white pickup truck, both of which sustained extensive frontal damage in the crash.

Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Larry Mowers told St. George News that responders arrived to find the 80-year-old driver in the minivan suffering from a head injury. He was transported to St. George Regional Hospital by ambulance for evaluation and treatment, while the driver of the pickup truck was uninjured.

At the time of the collision, he said the minivan was heading north on the interstate and traveling along one of the dedicated lanes between Dixie Drive and Bluff Street. As the driver attempted to merge into the left lane to continue north toward St. George Boulevard, a red passenger car came up alongside the minivan and “entered the driver’s blind spot,” which is when the minivan swerved to the right to avoid a collision, Mowers said.

View facing south of the northbound off-ramp of Interstate 15 where a two-vehicle crash sent driver to the hospital, St. George, Utah, June 3, 2021 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The driver overcorrected just as the passenger car shot ahead to allow the vehicle to merge left, but by then, the minivan driver had lost control of the vehicle that spun around and collided with a pickup truck before slamming into the concrete barrier near the Bluff Street Exit.

The concrete barrier was equipped with a collapsible safety apparatus that folded like an accordion upon impact. Shortly thereafter, a Utah Department of Transportation road crew arrived to pull the compacted sections apart and reattached it to restore it to its original position.

An impact attenuator, or “crash cushion” is commonly installed on the ends of a guardrail, concrete barrier or other potentially hazardous area. It functions as a barrier and is designed to redirect the force of the impact away from the front of the car toward the rear – which can also reduce the risk of injury or death from the force of a frontal impact.

Following the crash, both vehicles were rendered inoperable and subsequently towed from the roadway. Mower said the injuries to the minivan driver were not life-threatening. The incident is under investigation.

This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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