ST. GEORGE — A head-on collision at Highland Drive and Red Hills Parkway in St. George Wednesday night left four people injured, prompting a heavy emergency response amid initial concerns of two people trapped in one of the crushed vehicles.
St. George Police officers and emergency crews arrived at the scene shortly after the St. George Communications Center received 911 calls about the crash at 8:20 p.m.. Officers found both vehicles, a Cadillac Escalade and a Dodge Stratus, in the northbound lane of Red Hills Parkway, with the Dodge facing south, St. George Police Lt. Doug Sargent said.
Two people in the Dodge needed help to get out of their damaged vehicle before ambulance crews could transport the injured pair to Dixie Regional Medical Center. The Cadillac’s occupants, a man traveling with his daughter, were also transported to the hospital, Sargent said.
“It was initially reported that the accident involved occupants being trapped, but all were able to exit their vehicles. However the two occupants in the Dodge needed assistance to get out,” he said.
Officers at the scene determined that the Dodge was traveling southbound on Red Hills Parkway and veered into both northbound lanes of traffic. As the Cadillac came around the turn just after Highland Drive it was struck head-on by the Dodge, he said.
“Luckily the Dodge hit the Cadillac in a frontal impact, but at a slight angle,” Sargent said. “Or the damage and degree of injury could have been so much worse.”
No citations have been issued, but the incident remains under investigation.
“We really don’t know why the Dodge ended up where it did,” he said. “We can only speculate that there was an underlying cause, but we won’t know what that was until the investigation is over.”
All four lanes of Red Hills Parkway were closed for just under an hour, while emergency personnel tended to the injured and cleared the roadway. Northbound traffic was diverted onto Highland Drive, and southbound traffic was diverted to 350 North.
Both vehicles were rendered inoperable and towed from the accident scene.
St. George Police Department, St. George Fire Department, Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue and Gold Cross Ambulance responded to the scene.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and is still under investigation.
St. George News Reporter Ric Wayman contributed to this story.
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