Man arrested after crashing into Main Street roundabout

St. George Police arrest a man after an alleged hit-and-run at a roundabout, St. George, Utah, Oct. 21, 2015 | Photo by Cami Cox Jim, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – A man was arrested for driving under the influence, drug possession and reckless driving Wednesday evening after he allegedly drove up and crashed onto the roundabout at Main Street and Diagonal Street in St. George and then left the scene.

Around 6 p.m., a witness reported seeing a Jeep Wrangler crash onto the roundabout near the Main Street post office.

St. George Police arrest a man after an alleged hit-and-run at a roundabout, St. George, Utah, Oct. 21, 2015 | Photo by Cami Cox Jim, St. George News
St. George Police arrest a man after an alleged hit-and-run at a roundabout, St. George, Utah, Oct. 21, 2015 | Photo by Cami Cox Jim, St. George News

“Just basically kind of into the flower box,” St. George Police Sgt. Rich Triplett said.

“He just kind of went up into the dirt a little bit,” he added.

No damage was done to the roundabout, Triplett said, and the Art Around the Corner sculpture installed at the roundabout also did not sustain any damage as a result of the crash.

Following the accident, the driver fled the scene.

The driver of the Jeep, later identified as William David Witten of Santa Clara, was located and detained near 600 South and 700 East in St. George.

Officers at the scene said one of the front tires of Witten’s Jeep had been damaged in the crash.

Witten’s vehicle was searched at the scene and officers found drugs inside.

William David Witten, booking photo, Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 21, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff's Office, St. George News
William David Witten, booking photo, Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 21, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

“He was determined to be DUI,” Triplett said, “so he was arrested for DUI, and then marijuana was found in the vehicle.”

Witten was arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility on charges of driving under the influence, a class B misdemeanor; reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor.

According to court records, Witten has been released on $2,780 bond securing his promise to make court appearances. Arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 6.

His vehicle was impounded.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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10 Comments

  • tcrider October 22, 2015 at 10:17 am

    four main reasons for accidents in saint george: (in priority order)
    1. cell phone use
    2. tail-gating or following too close
    3. no directionals or blinkers
    4. duis’ or drugs
    you have to admit there are more accidents here on a per ratio to population, when you compare it to anywhere else in the country.

    • BIG GUY October 22, 2015 at 11:38 am

      I continually see complaints about St. George drivers and I don’t defend them. But complaints like tcrider’s above are unsupported by the facts. I could not find accident statistics by Utah city or county so I instead I propose that auto insurance rates are a good proxy. Washington County’s insurance rates are the lowest in the state. Utah as a state is well below the national average for auto accidents. We all tend to extrapolate our own experience into blanket generalizations. Our drivers may not be the best but they are far from the worst.
      .
      P.S. Isn’t it nice that traffic accidents are such a large part of local news? Could be drive by shootings or you name it.

      • tcrider October 22, 2015 at 12:19 pm

        I agree that the news being about traffic accidents is much better than gang-bangers and drugs,
        but you have to admit that many of the traffic related accidents are ridiculous and senseless, bottom line, most of the accidents are totally avoidable, I see idiots on a daily basis tailgating other drivers while on their cell phones.

      • BIG GUY October 22, 2015 at 3:50 pm

        I do not defend local drivers: most traffic accidents are avoidable and probably are caused by the factors that you cite. But it seems likely that we have our share, but no more than our share, of poor drivers.

      • Rainbow Dash October 22, 2015 at 10:12 pm

        You’re right BG The factys don’t seem to support his comments. Unfortunately this is MORMONville and, in MORMONville, lies are constantly “mistaken” for truth ESPECIALLY when the people involved hold a certain standing in a certain cult. That is my opinion. Sure the “facts” won’t back it up but 10 years of experience will.

    • Mean Momma October 22, 2015 at 12:14 pm

      Ummm your comment is idiotic tcrider.
      My personal opinion is that some people in St. George think they are the only ones on the road.

      • tcrider October 22, 2015 at 9:55 pm

        mean mama, you sound like a person that has been in a accident because of cell phone use, you probably think your better because you done use alcohol or drugs, in turn your probably one of the reasons other people turn to drugs or alcohol. And odds are that you are more probable of having future accidents because of your cell phone use, and self righteousness.

  • .... October 22, 2015 at 10:31 am

    LOL.! and you got your facts from.?

  • R. October 22, 2015 at 6:22 pm

    This is going to be very bad for business!

  • mesaman October 22, 2015 at 8:38 pm

    I do hope he didn’t run over that lovely pile of tail pipes in the center of the round-about. The are an artist’s revenge, right?

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