UPDATED: Motorcyclist dies after hitting unattended e-scooter on Bluff Street in St. George

ST. GEORGE — After being transported to the hospital on Monday morning following a crash on Bluff Street, a motorcyclist died Tuesday morning.

Officers respond to a crash involving a motorcycle that struck an e-scooter on Bluff Street and St. George Boulevard, St. George, Utah, March 14, 2022 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Update March 15, 1:19 p.m., The motorcycle rider involved in the single-vehicle crash near the intersection of Bluff Street and St. George Boulevard died Tuesday morning from the injuries sustained, St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News.

The St. George Police Department also issued a statement posted on social media that said, “We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”

The incident was reported Monday, shortly before 7:30 a.m., and a battalion of officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to the intersection of Bluff Street and St. George Boulevard on a single-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle that struck a scooter. The crash was seen by several witnesses that stopped to assist and speak to police.

Mitchell told St. George News the rider was “very seriously” injured and was transported to St. George Regional Hospital in serious condition.

At the time of the crash, Mitchell said, the motorcyclist was headed south on Bluff Street in the outside lane of travel, which is when the rider reportedly came upon an unattended Spin e-scooter lying in the roadway near the right shoulder.

It was just before sunrise, so the rider likely did not see the e-scooter until it was too late, leaving little time to react, Mitchell said. They are not yet sure whether the e-scooter was standing up or laying on its side at the time of the collision, she added.

“We just know it was in the roadway, and the motorcyclist hit it, lost control and was severely injured,” she said.

The accident reconstruction team was also called out to conduct an investigation. Both southbound lanes of Bluff Street were closed from St. George Boulevard to Tabernacle Street to allow responders to tend to the injured rider and for the team to conduct the investigation. This part of Bluff Street has since reopened.

Several markings and scratches in the roadway indicate the motorcyclist may have swerved to avoid the collision, but investigators’ findings were not available at the time of this report.

Mitchell said the man was not wearing a helmet when the collision took place, which may have been a factor in the significant injuries he sustained.

This is the second serious crash on Bluff Street involving a motorcycle in less than a week. On Thursday, a rider was struck at the intersection of 700 South and Bluff Street when a passenger car reportedly failed to yield while making a left turn. The rider was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

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