UPDATED: Officials release name of boy who died in UTV rollover on Sand Mountain

ST. GEORGE— A child was killed in a rollover involving a side-by-side utility task vehicle during a family vacation on Sand Mountain in Washington County Wednesday afternoon.


Update July 18, 4:35 p.m. Police have identified the deceased as 13-year-old Malachi King-Castro, a Denver-area resident.


Emergency personnel received a call around 2:45 p.m. alerting them to an accident in the Bureau of Land Management Sand Mountain OHV area near Sand Hollow State Park, Park Manager Jonathan Hunt said. 

Sand Hollow park rangers, along with crews from Washington County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and the Hurricane Valley Fire District, responded to the scene where they found the family involved in the single-vehicle UTV rollover. 

The boy who was riding in the backseat of the UTV suffered fatal head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. 

“They went over a hill, and they were involved in an accident. And one of the passengers received head trauma and passed away,” Hunt said. “He was the youngest in the group.”

The boy was wearing his seat belt at the time of the incident, though he was not wearing a helmet, Hunt said. No one else was injured. 

“They were just out to have a good time on the sand dunes, and I think that they were trying to jump the sand dune,” Hunt said. “I think people don’t always understand the limits of a machine, and this machine was not capable of doing what they attempted.” 

The family of three was visiting from Colorado and had rented the sport side-by-side while visiting the area. 

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