ST. GEORGE — Emergency crews were paged out to an incident at the construction zone on the new Tech Ridge development Tuesday afternoon.
The construction site is near the intersection of Indian Hills Drive and Gubler Lane. A construction vehicle was operating on-site when it rolled down a hill and ejected the driver around 3:24 p.m.
“They’re up there putting in new roadways and a bike path,” St. George Police Department Sergeant Tyrell Bangerter said. “It was a Caterpillar 613C water wagon that was partially loaded with water. It was backing up the hill when the driver apparently stopped, and there was some sort of an issue with what he was doing as far as getting the vehicle parking brake on.”
The truck began to roll downhill when the driver eventually hit the brakes. The truck then went off the side of the road and rolled several times down the hill. The driver of the vehicle was thrown from the water tanker while it was rolling and was transported to the hospital.
The water in the truck was leaking on scene as well as some of the fluids from the vehicle, but there were no hazardous materials issues.
Bangerter confirmed that the driver was conscious and talking to the police on scene. He was aware of what happened and had a head injury along with some other injuries.
“It’s a steep grade, there’s no getting around that,” Bangerter said. “I had several conversations with the foreman on scene and it seems like they’re taking the necessary precautions. It could have continued rolling, but it came to a stop.”
The investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.