Head-on collision results in multiple car pileup on HWY 89

A sudden snowstorm on Tuesday, February 14 resulted in hazardous driving condi­tions for much of the area, es­pecially in the evening.

Photo of upper Johnson Canyon covered in snow by James Holland.

Photos by Shannon Henderson.

Those hazards came to a head when a vehicle on Highway 89, not far from the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, drifted into the oppos­ing lane and collided with on­coming traffic and resulting in multiple injuries - in addition to medical teams, responders from the Utah Highway Patrol, Kane County Sheriff’s Office and Kanab Police Department made their way to the scene to divert traffic and manage the wreckage from the colli­sion. Over the course of law enforcement’s efforts to slow and restrict traffic, icy road conditions resulted in vehicles colliding with each other along the roads. According to law en­forcement on the scene, there were at least two instances of multiple vehicles sliding into each other; one of which was a three car pileup and one of which was a five car pileup.

As of yet, no fatalities were reported either from the initial crash or the subsequent col­lisions. With further reports coming in from various first response agencies, the online version of this article will be updated with more informa­tion and photographs going forward.