4-car chain reaction incident leaves last car smashed near Popeye’s on River Road

ST. GEORGE — A chain reaction of collisions involved four cars just after noon Friday, and police said it began with the first making a last-second turn into a Maverik station parking lot and the last rear-ending the third.

A Toyota Avalon after it rear-ended another vehicle at the end of a chain of four stopped cars entering the Maverik at River Road and George Washington Boulevard, St. George, Utah, Sept. 2, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The collisions at River Road and the recently renamed George Washington Boulevard left the last car, an orange-brown Toyota Avalon, with its front end smashed and airbags deployed. The damage was mainly to one car and the rear of another and there were no injuries.

St. George Police Officer Anthony Kearney said it started when one vehicle traveling north on River Road made a late and sharp fight turn into the Maverik across the street from Popeye’s and Dutch Bros. 

“Somebody stopped hard to try to make this turn into Maverik, and the car behind that stopped hard,” Kearney said. “The car behind that stopped hard. And then this was number four in line and it couldn’t stop in time.” 

As a result of the impact, the Avalon’s radiator was destroyed and the front end was bashed in what is likely a total loss.

Traffic disruption was minimal as St. George fire crews cleaned up the site and all the vehicles were moved into the Maverik parking lot within 20 minutes.

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

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