Crash near stadium leaves SUV on its side, crunches traffic around Utah Tech

Written by Chris Reed
January 24, 2023

ST. GEORGE — A crash that left a sports utility vehicle on its side on what is normally a quiet corner next to Greater Zion Stadium disrupted traffic around Utah Tech University around noontime Tuesday. But despite one car on its side and another with its front totaled, there were no injuries. 

Police reported that a white Toyota Highlander SUV traveling south on 800 East was T-boned by a red Chevy Malibu sedan traveling east on 600 South just before noon.

The Highlander, which had had a female driver and passenger, was left sitting on its side in the southbound side of 800 South just after 600 East, its roof partially caved in. After the SUV was righted by a tow-truck crew, remnants of a child’s art project and a glue stick mixed in with broken glass were visible on the ground.

The Chevy, driven by its only passenger, a female, had its front pushed in.

While neither car was unscathed, none of the three people involved in the crash required medical attention. The incident backed up traffic around the south side of the university around the lunch hour. 

“No one got hurt, which is the most important thing,” St. George Police officer Tiffany Mitchell said at the scene. 

The corner is usually a quiet one except on game days and around the annual July 4 celebration. But Mitchell said the crash is a reminder that drivers need to be alert even on the normally quiet streets.

“This intersection is not one you would think we would have a rollover on,” Mitchell said. “I mean, I was gonna say when I saw the address, I thought, ‘Wait a minute. What?”

While Mitchell said it appeared all of the passengers were wearing safety restraints. 

“It’s a good reminder that even though you’re on a really, well, what we would consider probably one of the quietest intersections in the city, why seat belts and double-checking and triple-checking before we make these make these actions is important,” Mitchell said. “We get lax because we think, ‘Well, it’s a quiet street. I’m just within two miles of home,’ but this is the reason why this stuff could happen.”

While the incident is still under investigation, Mitchell said it appears the SUV had stopped at a stop sign on 800 South and then proceeded. It wasn’t a four-way stop but it appeared the Chevy was going at excessive speed through the intersection when it hit the SUV.

Along with St. George Police, Utah Tech Police and St. George Fire also responded to the incident, which was cleared by 12:42 p.m.

St. George News reporter Layce Lundy contributed to this story.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Reed serves as a reporter for St. George News, where he has been honored with several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work, including first-place accolades. He started his journalism career as a sports reporter and editor in Southern California where he once compared shoe sizes with Shaquille O'Neal and exchanged mix tapes with members of the Los Angeles Kings. After growing up in the San Fernando Valley learning karate skills from Mr. Miyagi and spending a decade in Las Vegas mostly avoiding the casinos, he came to St. George for love and married his soulmate, a lifetime Southern Utah resident. He is the proud father of two boys, his youngest a champion against both autism and Type 1 diabetes.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGNews

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