Passerby helps 4 escape from fiery rollover in Rockville

A white Land Rover burst into flames after rolling off West Main Street in Rockville Friday. Although the four occupants were injured, they all survived the crash. Rockville, Utah, June 24, 2016 | Photo courtesy of Rockville/Springdale Fire Protection Chief Ryan Ballard, St. George News

ROCKVILLE — Four people escaped with injuries but alive thanks at least in part to a passing motorist who stopped to help them out of their Land Rover after it rolled and burst into flames Friday in Rockville. The four were on their way to visit Zion National Park.

A white Land Rover burst into flames after rolling off West Main Street in Rockville Friday. Although the four occupants were injured, they all survived the crash. Rockville, Utah, June 24, 2016 | Photo courtesy of Rockville/Springdale Fire Protection Chief Ryan Ballard, St. George News
A white Land Rover burst into flames after rolling off West Main Street in Rockville Friday. Although the four occupants were injured, they all survived the crash. Rockville, Utah, June 24, 2016 | Photo courtesy of Rockville/Springdale Fire Protection Chief Ryan Ballard, St. George News

Another motorist observed the crash and pulled over to assist the occupants as they were trying to exit the burning SUV, Rockville/Springdale Fire Protection Chief Ryan Ballard said. With the man’s help, the people were able to make it to safety.

Just before 5 p.m., emergency responders were dispatched to a reported car fire at 388 W. Main Street, or state Route 9, in Rockville, a few miles west of Zion National Park.

As emergency personnel arrived they found a white, late model Land Rover fully engulfed in flames, Ballard said.

The four people who had been traveling in the vehicle were found nearby, away from the fire. They had been injured during the crash, Ballard said, and were quickly transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George for treatment.

Meanwhile, firefighters fought the blaze that fully engulfed the SUV to keep it from spreading into nearby brush in triple digit temperatures.

Officers began questioning witnesses to determine how the crash occurred and determined that the driver was eastbound on West Main Street toward Zion National Park, Springdale/Zion Canyon Department of Public Safety Chief Garen Brecke said. 

A white Land Rover is a charred mass after firefighters extinguish a blaze of a single-vehicle crash in Rockville, Utah, June 24, 2016 | Photo courtesy of Springdale/Zion Canyon Department of Public Safety Chief Garen Brecke, St. George News
A white Land Rover is a charred mass after firefighters extinguish a blaze of a single-vehicle crash in Rockville, Utah, June 24, 2016 | Photo courtesy of Springdale/Zion Canyon Department of Public Safety Chief Garen Brecke, St. George News

As the driver headed east, he veered to the right of the roadway and drove into a ditch, rolling the SUV in the process, Brecke said. The vehicle then caught fire immediately after landing.

“It appears the SUV hit something hard as it rolled over or landed,” Ballard said, “and whatever it hit possibly ruptured the gas tank or fuel line, which would explain how quickly that fire spread.”

Once the fire was extinguished the charred frame of the SUV was towed from the scene.

Rockville/Springdale Fire Protection, Springdale/Zion Canyon Department of Public Safety and Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue responded to the scene. Three ambulances were needed to transport the injured.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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, 2016, 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!

9 Comments

  • ladybugavenger June 25, 2016 at 6:54 am

    Wow! Heroic! Pulling them out like that. A Superhero, I say. This guy needs a theme song.

  • .... June 25, 2016 at 10:34 am

    I agree ladybug 100% ..I got 10 bucks that says Real Life comes in and makes another stupid comment !

    • Real Life June 25, 2016 at 4:03 pm

      Come on now Dumpster. Everyone knows if you had ten bucks, you already spent it on more pills.

      • Bob June 26, 2016 at 2:15 pm

        LOL

        • .... June 28, 2016 at 5:46 am

          Lmao I just got two for the price of one ha ha ha ha ha it don’t get any easier than this. ..it’s like shooting fish in a barrel ! …. LOL !

  • old school June 25, 2016 at 11:29 am

    Ok, was the driver impaired, or on a cell phone. Hope to see a follow up story on some kind of investigation, we could have had a major forest fire in a national park and I don’t even see any mention of citations

  • Bob June 25, 2016 at 4:30 pm

    A Land Rover is about the most expensive turd of a vehicle anyone can buy. Some of them over $80,000 and just garbage. Next time buy a lexus.

    • Bob June 25, 2016 at 4:32 pm

      didn’t expect they’d flame up like than tho. maybe it was designed to explode on impact.

    • .... June 27, 2016 at 12:51 am

      Oh wow is dumbob not only an Zionist expert and a chemist now he knows everything about Land Rovers …absolutely amazing. !

Leave a Reply

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