ST. GEORGE — The tow truck driver said it was something he didn’t see every day.
That something was a white sedan pointing nosedown into a small ravine after it went down off Telegraph Street, a quarter-mile east of the intersection with Landfill Boulevard near the Coral Canyon community, shortly after noon Monday.
According to charging documents submitted by both the Washington City and St. George Police departments, at approximately 12:08 p.m., Washington City Police responded to a report of a vehicle that had gone off the road at Telegraph Street after the road leading to the Washington County Landfill.
According to the Washington City officer’s report, he found a white Mitsubishi Gallant down a steep, 15-foot ravine and the vehicle’s two occupants already out of the car. The occupants were Fetu Gaoa and his brother, Kesimane Gaoa.
At the crash site, there was little evidence from the road itself of any incident other than the two tow trucks that came to get the vehicle out and a police vehicle. The car itself had fallen far enough to be hidden from the main road and the only evidence that something had happened was some broken weeds.
There were also faint tire tracks consistent with a car that had been traveling eastbound on Telegraph that took a hard swerve left. The tracks led to where the car went down the ravine.
The officer said Kesimane Gaoa initially told him that he had been driving the vehicle. Just after, witnesses told the officer that they had seen Fetu Gaoa exiting from the driver’s side of the vehicle. The officer said he also saw an abrasion on the right side of Kesimane Gaoa’s neck, consistent with that of a passenger-side seatbelt.
While talking with Fetu Gaoa, police say they smelled an alcoholic scent coming off the suspect, and the officer said Fetu Gaoa told him he had been driving the car. The suspect then failed several sobriety tests, according to the report.
Both brothers were arrested and taken to St. George Regional Medical Center for medical clearance.
At the hospital, Washington City officers charged Kesimane Gaoa with misdemeanor obstruction, and he will be arraigned in 5th District Court on Thursday.
Fetu Gaoa was charged with driving under the influence by Washington City police and was also charged by St. George Police on other charges from a previous incident.
He will face his arraignment on Friday at 5th District Court.
This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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