7 car accordion-style collision impacts traffic on River Road

Seven cars were involved in three separate rear-end collisions in quick succession on River Road, St. George, Utah, Aug. 17, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Seven vehicles were involved in three separate but related rear-end collisions Monday morning on River Road in St. George, prompting police to tell drivers to slow down, pay attention and be patient.

Seven cars were involved in three separate rear-end collisions in quick succession on River Road Monday morning, St. George, Utah, August 17, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News
Seven cars were involved in three separate rear-end collisions in quick succession on River Road, St. George, Utah, Aug. 17, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

Officers received a call at 8:25 a.m. about the collisions on River Road, just north of the intersection with Brigham Road.

“Traffic at the intersection of Brigham and River Road is impacted by construction,” St. George Police Sgt. Spencer Holmes said. “It looks like it was highly congested and just front to rear-end collisions, one right after another.”

The incident involved high school students, parents and other drivers, Holmes said.

There is currently construction on River Road, he said, which adds to the congestion of school traffic and morning rush hour.

Holmes advises drivers to slow down, pay attention to the work crews and be patient when traveling River Road and Brigham Road.

Seven cars were involved in three separate rear-end collisions in quick succession on River Road Monday morning, St. George, Utah, August 17, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News
Seven cars were involved in three separate rear-end collisions in quick succession on River Road, St. George, Utah, Aug. 17, 2015 | Photo by Julie Applegate, St. George News

The first vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, slowed down, and was rear-ended by a Kia Soul. An Infiniti four-door passenger car was then rear-ended by a Toyota Corolla, which in turn was rear-ended by a Volkswagen Beetle.

Behind that sandwich collision, traffic slowed, and a Ford Mustang was rear-ended by a Chevy Cavalier.

“Just kind of an accordion affect,” Holmes said.

St. George Police officers responded to the scene, but no medical response was needed, Holmes said.

There were no injuries, and all of the vehicles involve suffered minor damage and were driven from the scene.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

 

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8 Comments

  • fun bag August 17, 2015 at 12:53 pm

    woah! they really might be the worst in the world. where is the common sense and courtesy?!

  • fun bag August 17, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    and why do the police not write citations for tail gating in this town? it’s just nuts…

  • anybody home August 17, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    Forget the Fair – Demolition Derby on River Road! Southern Utah drivers rule!

  • fun bag August 17, 2015 at 4:01 pm

    “7 car accordion-style collision impacts traffic on River Road”

    It would’ve been appropriate to write “7 car SAINT GEORGE-style collision impacts traffic on River Road” LOL

  • Dolly August 17, 2015 at 5:18 pm

    I drove by there at 6:30 am and noticed (at the last minute) a new temporary stop sign southbound on River Rd. Normally, traffic slows but proceeds directly into a right turn onto Brigham without stopping. I stopped and thanked my lucky stars that there was no one behind me. I can definitely see how this scenario at peak morning traffic would have caused multiple rear-enders. Perhaps UDOT could put a flashing sign to indicate the rather large traffic pattern change? The stop sign is low and placed in such a way that it isn’t readily noticed, especially if you have been traveling that way for years and aren’t expecting to see it. That’s my two cents!

  • Simone August 17, 2015 at 5:51 pm

    OR you could simply SLOW DOWN and PAY ATTENTION to whats going on IN FRONT OF YOU when you’re driving because, honestly, the city could put 500,000,000 signs that indicate a pattern change before it actually changes and you STILL wouldn’t notice them if you weren’t paying attention to what was going on IN FRONT OF YOU. That’s just my two cents!

  • Roy J August 17, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    Bahahaha! Where’s my Like button?!?! XD

  • Dexter August 18, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    well accidents like this are normal around here because they allow people like REAL LIFE VILLAGE IDIOT to take the open book drivers test

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