‘A freak thing’: Trailer turnover spreads debris across Brigham Road, disrupts lunch-hour traffic

ST. GEORGE — A trailer filled with gravel, branches, dirt and rock detached from a pick-up truck driving east on Brigham Road near the Bloomington Exit of Interstate 15 early Tuesday afternoon, officers said. The trailer then turned upside down with some of its cargo of debris spilling out in the right lane of the two eastbound lanes.

A trailer is turned upside down after being detached from a pick-up truck near Bloomington on E. Brigham Road, St. George, Utah, Oct. 26, 2021 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

Nobody was hurt in the incident that took place around 1 p.m., but traffic on east Brigham Road just past the Pilot Service Station was limited to one lane for about 45 minutes and closed entirely for about another 15 minutes as the trailer and the debris were cleared. 

Officer James Allred with St. George Police said while the incident is still being investigated, it is looking more like an equipment error than operator error by the driver of the silver Dodge pick-up, who was the vehicle’s sole passenger.  

“A hitch malfunctioned. And the trailer kind of went on its own, went up the side of the bank and then turned over,” Allred said. “At this point, it’s kind of looking like a freak thing. It appears as if (the trailer) was attached to the ball correctly. So we’re not quite sure where it occurred and why it came off here. He was driving a long distance before.”

Despite the mess left from the trailer dumping most of its cargo on Brigham Road, Allred was confident that it was a 30-minute cleanup but acknowledged it could have taken longer.

“Once it’s all rigged up, we shut down the road, get it pulled over in 10, 15 minutes. And we have all the equipment here waiting to get it, get it cleaned up,” Allred said. 

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