Driver killed in high-speed rollover just south of the Virgin River Gorge

ST. GEORGE — A driver was killed early Monday morning in a single-vehicle rollover crash in Arizona just south of the Virgin River Gorge on Interstate 15.

Dodge pickup truck is severely damaged during rollover on southbound Interstate near mile marker 2, Mohave County, Ariz., April, 12, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam Littlefield Fire and Rescue, St. George News

Shortly after 1 a.m. MST on Monday, officers and emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle rollover on southbound I-15 near mile marker 2 in Arizona, just a few miles north of Mesquite, and involved a white Dodge pickup truck, Arizona Department of Public Safety Trooper Thomas Callister said. Responders arrived to find the driver had been ejected and sustained fatal injuries during the crash. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Callister said at the time of the crash, the pickup was heading south on the interstate at “a very high rate of speed,” and as the truck approached another southbound vehicle the driver allegedly veered to the left and then over corrected to the right and went off the roadway.

The truck rolled multiple times until it came to rest more than 50 yards from where it originally left the roadway. At some point as the truck rolled, the driver was ejected and was found partially trapped underneath the vehicle, Callister said, adding that the driver was not restrained, and it was likely the ejection that led to the man’s death.

Callister said a witness who was traveling in the vehicle directly in front of the pickup told troopers that he going 75 mph when the truck came up behind him at a high rate of speed.

“The driver said the truck was going very fast – incredibly fast,” Callister said.

Callister also said that through the course of the crash investigation they determined that alcohol is believed to have contributed to the rollover, gauging from the number of beer cans found both inside the pickup’s cab and scattered across the scene.

He also said the driver appeared to be a resident of Las Vegas and may have been returning home when the crash took place but added that the registered owner of the truck is from the St. George area.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety and Beaver Dam Littlefield Fire and Ambulance also responded to the scene.

The identity of the driver has not yet been released, as Arizona authorities were working with officers in Las Vegas to notify next of kin.

This is a developing story, which is based upon information provided by law enforcement, and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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