Crash at River Road intersection injures 4 juveniles

ST. GEORGE – Four juveniles were taken to the hospital following a vehicle collision on River Road Thursday.

Around 6:15 p.m. the driver of a gray Honda Pilot was southbound on River Road and attempted to make a left turn onto 1450 South, St. George Police Sgt. Choli Ence said. While making the turn, the Honda collided with a yellow Subaru passenger car that was northbound.

The aftermath of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of 1450 South and River Road. A southbound gray Honda Pilot was making a left turn toward 1450 South from River Road when a northbound yellow Subaru passenger car crashed into each other. Witnesses told police the Subaru was traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving through traffic prior to the collision. Four juveniles in the Subaru were taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center while the driver of the Honda was unharmed, St. George, Utah, Oct. 12, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“Witnesses place (the passenger car) weaving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed. Essentially, as this driver was turning left in the Honda Pilot,” Ence said while pointing over her shoulder at the Honda that was about to be loaded onto a wrecker, “the driver of the yellow car hit her.”

The force of the impact pushed the Subaru off the road and onto the sidewalk in front of the Maverik gas station on the corner. The front of the car was demolished. The Honda Pilot also had heavy front-end damage.

The occupants of the Subaru, four juveniles, Ence said, were each taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center. This necessitated Gold Cross Ambulance calling four individual units to the scene.

At least two of the Subaru’s occupants had to be extricated from the car by St. George firefighters before being placed in waiting ambulances.

Ence did not know the extent of the injuries the juveniles received from the crash, though added it was possible some broken bones were involved.

The driver of the Honda Pilot appeared to be uninjured and was not taken to the hospital, Ence said.

The aftermath of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of 1450 South and River Road. A southbound gray Honda Pilot was making a left turn toward 1450 South from River Road when a northbound yellow Subaru passenger car crashed into each other. Witnesses told police the Subaru was traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving through traffic prior to the collision. Four juveniles in the Subaru were taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center while the driver of the Honda was unharmed, St. George, Utah, Oct. 12, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The issuance of any citations will be determined pending the outcome of the police investigation into the crash, she said.

There was very little to no lull in traffic on River Road as police and other responders dealt with the scene that hugged the northeast corner of the intersection.

With the majority of St. George’s population growth taking place in the southern areas of the city, like Little Valley, Ence said, it has forced a lot of traffic and congestion onto River Road. With the holiday season rolling in, too, the traffic is going to keep increasing, she said.

“Just take an extra second to make sure the intersection is clear and be patient,” Ence said. “Better to be safe than in a crash.”

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

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MoriKessler

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

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3 Comments

  • Caveat_Emptor October 13, 2017 at 9:03 am

    While the northbound Subaru may have been exceeding the speed limit, it appears that they technically had the right of way, if the light was green, and the Honda, making a left turn into 1450 South, failed to yield.

    The St. George News has been judiciously reporting on these accidents every day for the three years I have been reading it, and it appears to have become more frequent. As well covered as these accidents have been, it is disappointing that we have not seen some tapering. We can’t blame the traffic engineers. Time and again we have folks failing to yield to oncoming traffic, or stopping in time to avoid a rear end collision…….Dumb driving.

    • Icomments2 October 14, 2017 at 12:18 am

      Could it have been she was going to be turning left and the passenger car hit her? It didn’t say that she was in the process of turning. And why would both cars have front end damage if she hit them or they hit her while she turned in front of them? Sorry but in this case did you ever think that maybe in their careless and reckless driving the hit her head on? I don’t know what happened and I’m sure we’ll never know exactly what happened, due to the lack of follow up stories in the news papers must read stories, but that is a possibility.

      • Anon October 16, 2017 at 10:14 am

        The damage to the front end of the Honda would indicate that she was in the act of turning. If the Subaru had hit the Honda while the Honda was waiting to turn, the Subaru would have ended up on the west side of the street, not the east side, in front of Maverick. It does seem that the driver of the Honda failed to yield to oncoming traffic. That said, with the witness statements that the Subaru was driving at an accelerated rate of speed, weaving in and out of traffic, it is quite probable that the Honda driver misjudged the time she had to make the turn. The Subaru also might have popped out from behind another car, taking the Honda by surprise. Lots of factors in this accident could have affected the out come. I imagine the Honda driver will be cited for failing to yield to oncoming traffic and the Subaru will be cited for reckless driving. Sad situation all the way around. Hope everyone involved recovers alright.

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