Failure to yield on Dixie Drive is 4th major traffic incident of the day in Southern Utah

Written by Nick Yamashita
August 15, 2023

ST. GEORGE — Emergency crews across Southern Utah were busy Tuesday responding to four significant crashes, the last of which transpired at approximately 3 p.m.

A woman failed to yield to oncoming traffic on Dixie Dr. that resulted in an overturned Land Rover and one person in the hospital, St. George, Utah, Aug. 15, 2023 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

St. George Police said the driver of a red GMC Sierra truck failed to yield to oncoming traffic, resulting in an overturned yellow Land Rover Discovery on Dixie Drive.

Earlier in the day, St. George first responders handled a crash on Sunset Boulevard, which resulted in one fatality. The busy boulevard was closed for several hours and impacted first-day-of-school traffic in the area.

In Virgin, four people were seriously injured in a head-on collision on state Route 9 and had to be transported to the hospital.

And in Iron County around 6:30 a.m., a hit-and-run collision occurred on Lund Highway (3100 West), resulting in the arrest of a  23-year-old man for suspected DUI.

St. George Police Officer Eric Trombley said the woman involved in the Tuesday afternoon incident was stopped on Mesa Palms Drive to turn left onto Dixie Drive and travel northwest.

“The driver told me she looked both ways and had to wait for one car to drive by,” Trombley told St. George News. “When she looked back over, she saw another one coming east and tried to go and never saw another vehicle headed west.”

Trombley said she pulled out and hit the Land Rover on the passenger side back rear corner behind the wheel, spinning the Land Rover and causing a three-quarter rollover.

The vehicle came to rest near the center of the road, resulting in closed inside lanes while the outside lanes were open for travel.

There was little visible damage on the front of the Sierra but extensive damage to the Land Rover.

The teen driving the Land Rover was transported via Gold Cross Ambulance to St. George Regional Hospital with unknown injuries. However, Trombley reported she was talking and moving around.

The woman in the Sierra was in her 50s and was examined by emergency medical personnel and released with a citation for failure to yield.

Incident Management was on the scene and righted the Land Rover, and Superior Towing and hauled the vehicle away.

St. George Police Department, Santa Clara-Ivins Police Department, St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded to the call. The scene was cleared by 4 p.m.

“Sometimes we get in that little bit of rush and we need to slow down and make sure that it’s fully clear and safe,” Trombley said.

This report is based on statements from law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Yamashita has extensive experience reporting for small town media, covering a variety of subjects and events for The Virgin River Times and The Progress in Southern Nevada. Before a career in journalism, he worked a variety of jobs in criminal justice systems. Yamashita holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Southern Utah University. He is an award-winning photographer and writer. He has been published in scholarly articles and poetry compilations. In his spare time, he practices and teaches martial arts.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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