Man crashes truck through fenced wall of swimming pool, flees

A compact pickup truck crashed into a fence surrounding a swimming pool Saturday at the Cypress pointe complex at Stonebridge. The driver was arrested on charges related to suspected DUI, among other things. St. George, Utah, Aug. 20, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Car plus pool does not have to equal carpool. Such was the fortune of a St. George residential complex jarred awake Saturday morning by a compact pickup truck crashing through the fenced wall around its swimming pool.

A compact pickup truck crashed into a fence surrounding a swimming pool Saturday. The driver was arrested for DUI, among other things. St. George, Utah, Aug. 20, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
A compact pickup truck crashed into a fence surrounding a swimming pool Saturday at the Cypress Pointe complex at Stonebridge off Dixie Drive. The driver was arrested on charges related to suspected DUI, among other things. St. George, Utah, Aug. 20, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

“We had a call come in about 6:30 this morning, of a vehicle which … had smashed through this brick wall,” St. George Police Sgt. Jordan Minnick said on scene. “An adult male was seen getting out of the vehicle and then fleeing. Several officers responded, set up a good containment area and found that male within the complex.”

The crash happened at the Cypress Points complex at Stonebridge just off Dixie Drive.

Minnick said the suspect was originally contacted by phone after the incident occurred and he tried to talk his way out of it.

“Our dispatch center made contact with him as the registered owner of the vehicle, and he claimed to be home,” Minnick said, “and (he said he) checked his front yard and the vehicle was gone. Whether he intended to portray the vehicle as stolen I don’t know. He was obviously trying to distance himself from the vehicle.”

The man who allegedly drove his truck into a brick wall surrounding a swimming pool is given a field sobriety test by St. George Police officers Saturday morning. St. George, Utah, Aug. 20, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
The man who allegedly drove his truck into a fenced brick wall surrounding a swimming pool is given a field sobriety test by St. George Police officers Saturday morning ar the Cypress Pointe complex at Stonebridge off Dixie Drive in St. George, Utah, Aug. 20, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

The suspect was located very soon after that and was apprehended after a very short foot pursuit.

“There was nowhere for him to go,” Minnick said.

The suspect was given a field sobriety test and was placed under arrest by officers.

“There was impairment,” the sergeant said.

The man was arrested on charges related to suspected DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and drugs and drug paraphernalia officers said they found on him.

Damage to the pool wall is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $2,000, Minnick said.

Units from the St. George Police Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded to the scene.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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Twitter: @STGnews | @NewsWayman

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • .... August 20, 2016 at 8:18 pm

    This could of been a very tragic incident but there was no serious injuries or death reported with this accident. Praise the Lord !

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