Impact with semi sends debris flying as pickup truck’s axle shatters

White pickup truck was demolished during two-vehicle crash on Industrial Road Friday morning, St. George, Utah, Sept. 22, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A pickup truck was demolished after a collision with a parked semitractor-trailer sent metal, rubber and debris soaring through the air Friday morning.

Shortly after 8 a.m. officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash involving a white 2007 Nissan Titan and a semi on North Industrial Road, St. George Police Officer Lona Trombley said.

Rear trailer of semi is damaged when struck by a white pickup truck Friday morning on Industrial Road, St. George, Utah, Sept. 22, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Officers found the semi, a Kenworth pulling two SmithCo side-dump trailers that were more than 40 feet long, parked alongside the street facing south while the Nissan was in the roadway. Debris was strewn along the pavement after a section of the front passenger’s side of the Nissan splintered off on impact.

“The semi was parked and out of the way, with the tire of the rear trailer on the solid white line when this collision occurred,” Trombley said.

Officers learned during the investigation that the pickup truck was heading south on Industrial Road and veered to the right, striking the driver’s side rear trailer of the semi with the front passenger side of the pickup.

The violence of the impact was similar to an explosion, one witness said at the scene, adding that the pickup’s axle and front tire flew off the truck and splintered, landing several feet away.

The man driving the pickup truck was cited for unsafe lane travel, and the disabled pickup was towed from the scene. The semi sustained damage to the rear steel frame of the second trailer and remained operational.

No injuries were reported.

The St. George Police Department and the St. George Fire Department responded and tended to the scene.

This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Ed. note: CORRECTION made Sept. 23, 2017, 8:40 a.m. – The pickup truck in this report was incorrectly identified as a Toyota rather than a Nissan; references throughout the report are corrected.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.  

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

 

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

10 Comments

  • mshaw September 23, 2017 at 6:53 am

    Nice reporting. It’s a Nissan Titan not a Toyota maybe we can send you over to stephen wade auto center to do a special report on autos and car and truck brands and see if you can get it right.

    • Avatar photo Joyce Kuzmanic September 23, 2017 at 8:52 am

      Ed. note: CORRECTION made Sept. 23, 2017, 8:40 a.m. – The pickup truck in this report was incorrectly identified as a Toyota rather than a Nissan; references throughout the report are corrected.

  • PiousInquisitor September 23, 2017 at 7:17 am

    When did Toyota start making a Titan truck and use Nissan badges?

    • Avatar photo Joyce Kuzmanic September 23, 2017 at 8:52 am

      Ed. note: CORRECTION made Sept. 23, 2017, 8:40 a.m. – The pickup truck in this report was incorrectly identified as a Toyota rather than a Nissan; references throughout the report are corrected.

  • Caveat_Emptor September 23, 2017 at 7:46 am

    Memo to Cody: This is a Nissan brand, Titan model, pickup truck. The local Toyota folks might be offended…;>)….

    • Avatar photo Joyce Kuzmanic September 23, 2017 at 8:52 am

      Ed. note: CORRECTION made Sept. 23, 2017, 8:40 a.m. – The pickup truck in this report was incorrectly identified as a Toyota rather than a Nissan; references throughout the report are corrected.

  • DRT September 23, 2017 at 8:27 am

    A very easy mistake to make. After all, those itty- bitty trucks are really hard to see…smh

    • DRT September 23, 2017 at 11:31 am

      OK, None of them above posts had been posted when I made my comment. I was referring to the pickup vs the semi.
      I actually didn’t notice the discrepancy about the pickup brand. I agree with the below post by Happy Day!
      Hey Joyce? You seem to be repeating yourself a lot these days! 😉

  • jpw September 23, 2017 at 8:54 am

    Weak reporting….I’ll never buy a “Toyota” again…?

  • Happy Day September 23, 2017 at 9:52 am

    Thank you for the article. I do not care what brand of truck it is.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.