Pickup truck hits boulder, veers off SR-14 into creek

Written by Jeff Richards
April 27, 2020

CEDAR CITY — A driver escaped injury in a single-vehicle crash Monday that sent his pickup truck off the road and into the creek in Cedar Canyon.

The incident, which was reported shortly before noon near milepost 9 on state Route 14, involved a red 2011 Ford F-350 pickup driven by an adult male.

Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Randy Riches told Cedar City News at the scene that the man had been heading east up the canyon when the crash occurred.

“Based on evidence that we’ve seen here on the scene, it looks like this gentleman may have been going a little bit fast coming around the corner here,” Riches said, adding that the driver then crossed the line onto the right shoulder where his front tire struck a large rock.

“He hit that boulder, which caused his front end to come apart and caused him to lose control of the vehicle,” Riches said. “He veered to the right and went off the embankment down in the wash and landed right in the river, kind of on his side.”

“He actually landed on his wheels first,” Riches added. “Because of the grade on the embankment, once he came to stop, he kind of just tipped over in the river.”

Scene of a single-vehicle crash involving a red Ford F-350 pickup truck on SR-14 in Cedar Canyon, nine miles east of Cedar City, Utah, April 27, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Riches said the man was able to get out of the truck on his own and walk back up to the road to summon help. He reportedly had no injuries that required medical attention.

“Fortunately, he was wearing a seat belt,” Riches said. “And, his airbags deployed and worked like they should have. So he walked away from this one without injury.”

The Ford F-350 sustained heavy damage and was towed from the scene.

Investigating UHP Trooper Daniel Nielson said afterward that the driver received a citation for failure to operate his vehicle within a single lane. He was also given a warning for excessive speed, Nielson said.

In addition to the UHP officers who handled the investigation, a deputy with Iron County Sheriff’s Office also responded and helped direct traffic around the crash site until the scene was cleared.

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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