ST. GEORGE — Amidst increased police patrol and holiday shoppers, a two-vehicle crash occurred when a driver attempting a U-turn in the middle of the road was struck by another vehicle, resulting in minor injuries.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon officers and emergency personnel responded to a reported two-car crash near Dixie Regional Medical Center’s 400 East Campus, St. George Police officer David McDaniel said.
When officers arrived they found two cars in the middle of South 400 East, a white Audi station wagon and a black Ford Focus, both heavily damaged and blocking northbound traffic.
After checking for occupant injuries in both vehicles, emergency medical personnel found one injured teenage girl in the Ford.
“The backseat passenger in the Focus was reaching around to put her seat belt on, but hadn’t latched it yet,” McDaniel said, “so she was thrown across the back seat when the impact occurred.”
The teen declined transport to the hospital after being checked by medical personnel.
After speaking with the drivers and witnesses at the scene, officers determined the man driving the Ford Focus was parked on the east side of South 400 East and once his passengers got in the vehicle, he started to pull out into traffic.
The man checked his mirror before pulling out, but while attempting to make a U-turn intent on heading south, he spun the car around and directly into the path of the Audi travelling north, the officer said.
“The driver checked his mirrors but didn’t check over his shoulder,” McDaniel said, “so the Audi came up in his blind spot, and the driver never saw the car until it was too late.”
The Audi struck the Focus on the driver’s side, causing the car to spin around from the impact until both vehicles came to rest in the middle of the roadway.
All northbound traffic on South 400 East was blocked for approximately 45 minutes while emergency personnel tended to the scene.
The man driving the Focus was cited for failing to yield before entering or crossing a roadway, the officer said.
Previous to this incident, the frequency of crashes in the area had been declining, McDaniel said, partly because of the heavy saturation of officers on patrol for the holiday weekend.
St. George Police, St. George Fire and Gold Cross ambulance service responded and tended to the scene.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or first responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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You need to be careful out there when doing them U turns folks. going around the block and using an intersection would of prevened this accident