Wrong-way driver on I-15 in Parowan safely stopped by officer’s tactical maneuver, UHP says

PAROWAN — A wrong-way driver on Interstate 15 on Tuesday morning was safely stopped by a successful intervention maneuver performed by a responding officer, Utah Highway Patrol reported.

UHP Lt. Randy Riches said the incident began shortly after 8:30 a.m. when dispatchers began to receive calls about a vehicle traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of I-15 near Parowan.

“Troopers located the vehicle here at about mile marker 77 northbound, still traveling the wrong way and obviously a hazard for other motorists on the road,” Riches told Cedar City News at the scene.

At that point, Riches said, a Utah Department of Public Safety officer in plain clothes and an unmarked police vehicle was able to execute a variation of what’s known as a pursuit intervention technique, or a PIT maneuver. The technique essentially involves deliberately colliding with the target vehicle in a tactical manner that minimizes the risk of severe injury or damage.

In this case, Riches said, because the two vehicles were heading in opposite directions, it’s called a reverse PIT.

Riches said the officer activated his emergency equipment in an effort to warn the other driver and get them to either stop or pull to the side of the road.

“However, they didn’t respond,” he said. “So, the trooper performed a reverse PIT maneuver and disabled the vehicle.”

Following the collision, the officer and other responding troopers were able to safely remove the vehicles and debris from the roadway and into the center median.

No injuries were reported.

Scene of a collision on Interstate 15 between the wrong-way driver of a Toyota SUV and an officer in an unmarked police vehicle, Parowan, Utah, Aug. 23, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The wrong-way vehicle, a silver Toyota RAV4 SUV occupied by an adult female driver, sustained damage to its side rear section on the driver’s side. The state officer’s unmarked vehicle, a silver Ford Fusion, sustained damage to its front end on the driver’s side. Both cars were towed from the scene.

“It appears that in this case, it’s an elderly individual who was confused,” Riches said.

Riches also said that based on the 911 calls received, it’s believed the Toyota driver entered the wrong side of I-15 at Exit 71 and traveled nearly seven miles before being stopped.

“Many times we see this with people who are impaired or have some type of cognitive disorder,” Riches said. “Our troopers have been trained and we deal with this type of crisis a lot.”

“It’s something that our department training division has researched and done a lot of training on over the last several years because we’ve had such a high increase in wrong-way drivers on our roadways,” Riches added.

Southbound I-15 traffic was minimally impacted with a left-lane closure for approximately one hour while the scene was investigated and cleared. An Iron County Sheriff’s Office deputy also responded.

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

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