Cedar City Police say driver distraction possibly to blame in 3-vehicle collision

Scene of a multi-vehicle collision near 1160 S. Main Street, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 1, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Police say a possibly distracted teenage driver lost control of her car and sideswiped two other vehicles on Main Street in Cedar City Wednesday afternoon.

Scene of a multi-vehicle collision near 1160 S. Main Street, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 1, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

The incident, which occurred shortly after noon near the Tagg-N-Go car wash at 1160 S. Main, involved a light blue Ford Crown Victoria sedan, a silver Toyota Corolla passenger car and a red Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.

Cedar City Police Sgt. Tim Bonzo said the driver of the Ford, who had multiple teenage passengers in the car with her, was heading northbound on Main Street when the vehicle began swerving or fishtailing across the road. Bonzo said the Ford then crossed over into the southbound lanes, where it made contact with the Toyota.

“It struck the side of that car, spun it around, bounced off and came over and hit the pickup truck, which was  going northbound,” Bonzo said.

No injuries were reported, and medical assistance was not needed, he added.

Bonzo said that although the cause is still under investigation, preliminary evidence suggests the driver of the Ford may have been distracted. She and her friends were reportedly on lunch break from their nearby school.

“We’re trying to determine right now if maybe there was some phone usage going on,” Bonzo said. “Or, some other type of distraction. We have a few witnesses who said it looked like the driver was not paying attention.”

Bonzo said it’s likely the Ford driver will be cited, pending further investigation.

Both the Ford and the Toyota sustained moderate damage and were towed from the scene. The Chevrolet pickup had a sizable dent just behind its driver’s side door, but the vehicle (and the door) remained operable.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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

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