Car leaves trail of debris on Bluff after gas was hit instead of the brakes

A white Mazda passenger vehicle sits in the parking lot of Sun Garden Condominiums after crashing into a stop sign and a block wall at 500 South and Bluff Street, St. George, Utah, Feb. 9, 2020 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — St. George Police officers responded to a car accident at the intersection of Bluff Street and 500 South in St. George Sunday afternoon that left a trail of debris in its wake. There were no injuries resulting from the accident.

A gray passenger vehicle shows signs of damage after being rear-ended at the intersection of 500 South and Bluff Street, St. George, Utah, Feb. 9, 2020 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

Two passenger cars were heading north in the right lane of Bluff Street when the car in front, a gray vehicle, attempted to turn right onto 500 South, Lt. Jeff Bahlmann said.

According to the driver of the second vehicle’s statement, Bahlmann said that driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal and accelerated into the back of the grey car.

The second vehicle, a white passenger car, continued accelerating, taking out a street sign and a block wall before coming to a stop in the parking lot of an apartment building located at the corner of the two streets.

“Because they pressed the gas pedal, they continued driving and hit a street sign and a block wall here in Sun Garden Condominiums,” Bahlmann said.

Gold Cross Ambulance emergency personnel responded to the scene, but neither driver had any obvious injuries, Bahlmann said.

Bricks from a block wall are piled up at the corner of Bluff Street and 500 South after an accident occurred at the intersection in St. George, Utah, Feb. 9, 2020 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

“(They’re) shaken up a little bit but medical came and checked them out and didn’t transport anybody,” he said.

Both the stop sign at 500 South and a Bluff Street sign were destroyed in the incident.

At the time of the accident, Bahlmann said that city crews had been called to come replace the stop sign because of the higher speed limit on Bluff Street – the speed limit on the busy street is 45 miles-per-hour.

Law enforcement officials planned to stay on scene and monitor traffic until the sign was replaced, Bahlmann said.

St. George Fire Department personnel also responded to the scene.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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