Driver extricated following crash on Bluff Street

ST. GEORGE — A driver was extricated and then transported to the hospital following a three-vehicle crash on Bluff Street on Tuesday morning that left one vehicle destroyed and its driver’s side door partially lodged in the bumper guard of a pickup truck.

Rear driver’s side door is cut away to free driver following three-vehicle crash at the intersection of 500 North and Bluff Street in St. George, Utah, April 5, 2022 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Shortly before 10 a.m., officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to the intersection of 500 North and Bluff Street on a three-vehicle crash involving a white Toyota four-door, a charcoal gray Chevrolet work truck and a white box truck. Initial reports indicated the Toyota driver possibly was injured.

Officers arrived to find the Chevrolet partially blocking two northbound lanes of Bluff Street, while the Toyota was near the sidewalk blocking traffic on 500 North. The box truck was facing west on 500 North near the turn lane. Several bystanders checked on the drivers involved in the crash while emergency crews were en route.

The driver’s side door of the Toyota was partially ripped off during the collision, leaving the driver unable to exit the vehicle on her own. Fire crews arrived and used hydraulic rescue equipment to cut the rear driver’s side door away. After several minutes, the woman was freed from the wreckage and transported to St. George Regional Hospital in stable condition.

St. George Police Officer Eric Trombley told St. George News the driver of the Toyota sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the crash, while the two drivers in the trucks reported no injuries.

Meanwhile, several passersby remained at the scene and assisted crews with clearing debris from the roadway as officers spoke to several witnesses who saw the collision as it unfolded.

At the time of the crash, Trombley said, the Chevrolet work truck was in the left turn lane on 500 North to head south on Bluff Street, while the box truck also was stopped at the intersection waiting for traffic to clear to turn right heading north on Bluff.

The Toyota was heading north in the middle lane of Bluff Street when a witness reported the passenger car merged into the left lane while approaching the intersection. At the same time, Trombley said, the Chevrolet pulled out and continued through the intersection to make the turn just as the light was turning red. The Toyota, he said, continued through the intersection and was struck by the Chevrolet that was in the middle of the turn, which spun the passenger car around until it struck the box truck still stopped on 500 North.

The skin on the driver’s side door of the Toyota got caught in the Chevrolet’s bumper guard, which ripped the skin from the door and left it lodged and fileted on the front driver’s side of the pickup.

Chevrolet is heavily damaged with Toyota’s door skin sticking out from under deer guard of truck following three-vehicle crash at the intersection of 500 North and Bluff Street in St. George, Utah, April 5, 2022 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Somehow, Trombley said, there was a tire tread on the passenger’s side of the Toyota that transferred from the box truck during impact.

Trombley added that seconds before impact, the Chevrolet driver saw that traffic was clear as he continued into the intersection to make the left turn just as the light was turning red. The Toyota driver, he said, changed lanes quickly to avoid slowing down for the northbound traffic that was still stopped at the light.

The woman in the Toyota also told police she was going about 50 mph when she entered the intersection, Trombley said, which did not give her enough time to take any evasive action to avoid the crash.

“Even five miles over the speed limit can make the difference in these types of situations,” said Trombley, adding the Toyota driver will be cited for failing to obey a traffic control device and a warning for speeding.

The intersection was partially blocked for more than 45 minutes as crews cleared the roadway of debris and wrecked vehicles. The Toyota was destroyed in the crash, while both the pickup and the box truck sustained heavy front-end damage.

The St. George Police Department, St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded and tended to the scene.

This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. 

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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