ST. GEORGE — Two Washington County sheriff’s deputies were injured while assisting the Utah Highway Patrol Saturday morning, with the first crash occurring at 03:24 a.m. and the second crash at 5:06 a.m.
The call came into dispatch as a rollover but then was determined not to be one. “I talked to the trooper on scene, he said it actually wasn’t a rollover,” Cpl. Mikki Vargas of the Utah Highway Patrol said. “It just a crash blocking the right lane in the first crash. Then in the second crash, that’s when the deputies were hit.”
The first accident blocked lane three northbound on I-15 near mile marker 38. The deputies were riding together and were sitting in their marked patrol vehicle in the lane closure waiting for the tow truck, according to a press release.
A semi-truck entered the lane closure and struck the rear of the marked Washington County patrol vehicle. Both deputies received non-life-threatening leg and head injuries and were alert and talking to EMS personnel. They were transported via ambulance to the hospital.
The crash resulted in all three lanes of northbound I-15 being blocked. Traffic was diverted onto the left shoulder. Drowsy or distracted driving is being investigated as the cause of the accident, according to the press release. Vargas said the accident is still under investigation.
UPDATE 4/23/2022 1:50 p.m. A probable cause statement has been released showing the arrest of Aric Ham of Cedar City for driving under the influence of alcohol and causing this wreck. The statement says that Ham was traveling south when he crashed into a southbound semi-tractor-trailer, left the roadway, went through a cable barrier and into the northbound lanes where he ended up in the number three lane.
Ham was taken to St. George Regional Medical Center, where he was cleared to be booked into the Purgatory Correctional Institution.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Photo Gallery
A wreck early Saturday morning caused injuries to two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and resulted in the arrest of one person, Washington County, Utah April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of New Harmony Fire Department, St. George News The Washington County Sheriff's office truck that was hit during an accident with two deputies inside, New Harmony, Utah, April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of New Harmony Fire Department, St. George News A wreck early Saturday morning caused injuries to two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and resulted in the arrest of one person, Washington County, Utah April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Transport, St. George News A wreck early Saturday morning caused injuries to two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and resulted in the arrest of one person, Washington County, Utah April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Transport, St. George News A wreck early Saturday morning caused injuries to two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and resulted in the arrest of one person, Washington County, Utah April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Transport, St. George News A wreck early Saturday morning caused injuries to two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and resulted in the arrest of one person, Washington County, Utah April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Transport, St. George News A wreck early Saturday morning caused injuries to two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and resulted in the arrest of one person, Washington County, Utah April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Transport, St. George News A wreck early Saturday morning caused injuries to two Washington County Sheriff's deputies and resulted in the arrest of one person, Washington County, Utah April 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Ladd's Transport, St. George News
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