WASHINGTON CITY — A wheelbarrow and some tubing created a hazard on Interstate 15 Tuesday after falling off someone’s vehicle or trailer, resulting in a two-vehicle collision on the Interstate as motorists swerved to avoid the debris.

At approximately 8:20 a.m., traffic came upon the debris on northbound I-15, at milepost 12, directly between the two Washington City exits.

Drivers began hitting their brakes and trying to swerve around the wheelbarrow, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jake Hicks said.

A 58-year-old man from St. George, driving a white Dodge Charger, was in the left lane when he saw the debris and traffic stopping, Hicks said, so the man braked and swerved to the right.

At that same time, a 28-year-old man from St. George was traveling in a gold Saturn behind that Dodge Charger.

“He also swerved to the right and braked, but his speed was a little too fast,” Hicks said. “He didn’t have enough room to stop and struck the Dodge Charger from behind – pretty good impact – probably about 50 mph.”

Both men were wearing seat belts and no injuries were reported as a result of the collision, Hicks said.

“What precipitated this whole crash was that wheelbarrow falling out of somebody’s trailer,” Hicks said, “so we always advise: make sure your loads are secure because when it falls off, it could cause major problems for other people.”

As this report is published, Hicks said it is unknown who lost the wheelbarrow on the freeway.

“No witnesses that we were able to identify, at this time,” he said, “but we are looking for that person that lost the wheelbarrow so that we can have a chat with them about it.”

Neither of the motorists involved in the collision were issued a citation, Hicks said.

“Given where this is really a true accident,” he said, “both vehicles were trying to avoid a road hazard they just couldn’t avoid – and so, no citations issued.”

The gold Saturn was rendered inoperable as a result of the collision and was towed from the scene. Traffic was minimally impacted as both interstate lanes were kept open.

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

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