Driver dies when car slams into power pole, catches fire on 3000 East in St. George

ST. GEORGE — A driver was killed when the passenger car he was driving slammed into a large power pole on 3000 South in St. George Friday morning.

St. George police and accident reconstruction team respond to single-vehicle crash and car fire on Horseman Park Drive and 3000 East in St. George, Utah, April 8, 2022 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Shortly after 9:30 a.m., officers and emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle crash involving a gray Hyundai passenger car that was found smashed into a large electrical pole at the corner of Horseman Park Drive and 3000 East.

According to a statement from the St. George Police Department, initial reports indicated the driver was unconscious and not breathing and the car was on fire.

Emergency personnel pulled the driver from the wreckage; the driver was unresponsive and CPR was initiated. Efforts continued until the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

The accident reconstruction team was called out to conduct an investigation that was expected to take several hours.

At the time of the crash, witnesses told police the car was heading south on 3000 East “at an extremely high rate of speed before it swerved and struck the concrete base of the power pole.”

When the incident took place, multiple people were outside the house-lined street leading up to the crash, including Aleah Jensen, who was working with her father less than a block from the corner where the crash took place. She said she was looking in the direction of the corner when the vehicle initially came into view.

She said immediately before the impact, she saw the gray car going at least 60-80 mph and then it crashed into the pole. She also said it did not appear that the driver was braking or swerving when the vehicle slammed into the pole “dead on.”

“That was the loudest thing I’ve ever heard,” she added.

Within seconds she called 911 to report the collision while her father, Tony Jensen, ran to the corner to help, which is when they noticed there were no skid marks on the roadway. She also said the driver, who reportedly was in his 20s, was “unresponsive” when she got closer to the car.

Tony Jensen also said there was no sound prior to the impact there was “no tires screeching or hard braking – nothing.”

He added that he has heard the sound of crashes in the past but has never heard anything as loud as the crash on Friday, and he remained near the car trying to help the unresponsive driver.

The vehicle was smoking following the impact and then caught fire, said another witness, adding she was staying in a ground-level bedroom while visiting family at the house on the corner where the crash took place. She said she did not see anything, but she heard a very loud sound and when she ran outside saw smoke coming from the car.

The witness also told St. George News at the scene that several passersby stopped to help, as well as a number of bystanders who were outside when the crash took place. Several individuals brought their fire extinguishers to the scene to put the fire out – efforts that continued until the fire department arrived several minutes later and extinguished the blaze, she said.

The family of the driver has been notified of the crash but the name is not being released at this time. The St. George Police Department also extended their condolences to the family and friends of the driver, according to the statement.

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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