ST. GEORGE — A driver’s life was spared after a rollover crash in Littlefield, Arizona, Tuesday when responders found an unresponsive man lying on an active power line underneath his pickup truck and he was flown to the hospital in Utah in critical condition.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., officers and emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle rollover on Scenic Boulevard near the corner of Lonestar Road in Littlefield. The incident involved a Dodge pickup truck that rolled multiple times and came to rest on an active power line, Beaver Dam Littlefield Fire Chief Jeff Hunt told St. George News.
Mercy Air Medical Transport was deployed due to the severity of the crash.
Responders arrived to find that the 34-year-old driver was ejected during the rollover and came to rest underneath the truck, Hunt said. He was found unconscious and unresponsive when responders reached him, only to discover the man was also laying on top of an energized power line that was protected by a plastic covering that prevented the driver from being electrocuted.
The man was pulled from underneath the truck and provided emergency medical care until the helicopter landed, at which point he was loaded into the helicopter and flown to St. George Regional Hospital in critical condition.
The rollover also left a large field of debris scattered across the remote area near the crash.
At the time of the rollover, the truck was heading west on Scenic Boulevard from the Virgin River when the truck approached a curve in the road, and likely due to speed, Hunt said, the driver was unable to negotiate the curve and lost control of the truck that rolled “at least twice, maybe more.” From there, the driver was ejected as the truck took out the power line and then landed in an upright position.
Fortunately, the chief said, the truck landed on all four wheels, leaving plenty of clearance for the driver who was found underneath the truck. Otherwise, the driver likely would have been crushed underneath the vehicle, but as it happened, the truck landed on top of the driver who was found in between the front and back tires – and the added clearance prevented further injury.
Hunt also said the driver never regained consciousness at the scene, but the chief later received an update that the driver made it to the hospital and was in surgery having sustained significant fractures that were “critical.”
The Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire Department, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Mesquite Fire and Rescue and Mercy Air Medical Transport responded and tended to the scene. Dixie Power also responded and cut power to the line so repairs could be made to the power line and the electrical box.
This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Photo gallery
Dodge pickup truck is heavily damaged in rollover that critically injures driver in Littlefield, Ariz., Oct. 4, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire and Rescue, St. George News Dodge pickup truck is heavily damaged in rollover that critically injures driver in Littlefield, Ariz., Oct. 4, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire and Rescue, St. George News Scattered debris is left in the wake of a rollover crash in Littlefield, Ariz., Oct. 4, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire and Rescue, St. George News Dodge pickup truck is heavily damaged in rollover that critically injures driver in Littlefield, Ariz., Oct. 4, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire and Rescue, St. George News 
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