ST. GEORGE — A left-hand turn into a fruit stand in Santa Clara triggered a three-vehicle crash involving a semitractor pulling two trailers on Wednesday.
Shortly after 2 p.m., officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to Santa Clara Drive on a three-vehicle crash involving a semitractor-trailer pulling double trailers, a red Ford Escape and a gray Chevrolet Impala.
Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Reed Briggs told St. George News that emergency responders arrived to find the Escape partially blocking both lanes of travel, while the semi was disabled and blocking the eastbound lane. The Impala was pulled off to the side of the roadway.
The woman driving the Escape sustained minor injuries, primarily caused by the deployment of the airbags, and she declined to be transported to the hospital, said Briggs, adding there were no injuries reported by either the driver of Impala or the semi at the scene.
The semi driver, however, was “pretty shaken up” because he thought his truck was going to crush the top of the SUV, Briggs said.
Santa Clara-Ivins Fire and Rescue also responded as additional officers were called to the scene to assist with traffic, which had to be diverted away from the scene.
At the time of the crash, the Escape was heading west on Santa Clara Drive, while the semi was heading east along the same street.
The Escape made a left-hand turn to enter the parking lot of the fruit stand on Santa Clara Drive, and when the driver did so, Briggs said, the SUV crossed into the path of the eastbound semi that struck the front of the Escape.
The force of the impact spun the SUV around, where it hit a third vehicle, the Impala, before coming to rest facing oncoming traffic.
The impact with the semi destroyed the Escape, while the semi sustained front-end damage. Minimal damage was reported on the Impala.
Fortunately, Briggs said, the semi was hauling two empty trailers. Otherwise, all of that extra weight from two fully-loaded trailers would have increased the force behind the impact, which could have made the injuries and damage even worse.
Briggs also said that Santa Clara Drive was shut down in both directions for more than an hour to allow responders to tend to the scene and clear debris and wreckage from the roadway.
The driver of the Escape subsequently was cited for failing to yield on a left turn.
The Santa Clara Ivins Police Department and Santa Clara Ivins Fire and Rescue responded and tended to the scene.
Photo Gallery
Front of Ford Escape is crushed during three-vehicle crash on Santa Clara Drive involving a semitractor-trailer, Santa Clara, Utah, May 4, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the Santa Clara Ivins Police Department, St. George News The front of a semitractor-trailer sustains damage during a three-vehicle crash Santa Clara Drive in Santa Clara, Utah, May 4, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the Santa Clara Ivins Police 
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.