Teens escape injury after truck demolished in rollover

Written by Mori Kessler
July 20, 2015

ST. GEORGE – Two teens escaped serious injury early Saturday morning after the truck they were in left the road and rolled down an embanked by the Virgin River.

Around 3 a.m., police were alerted to a rollover off Riverside Drive east of the River Road intersection. When they arrived on scene, they found a large pickup truck at the bottom of an embankment.

Damaged truck being taken away by a wrecker after being removed from the bottom of an embankment by the Virgin River where it rolled after leaving the roadway, St. George, Utah, July 18, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Marty Martak, St. George News
Damaged truck being taken away by a wrecker after being removed from the bottom of an embankment by the Virgin River where it rolled after leaving the roadway, St. George, Utah, July 18, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Marty Martak, St. George News

“We think the driver fell asleep … The truck was pretty much demolished,” St. George Police Sgt. Sam Despain said, adding that as the truck rolled, it smashed into a few boulders on the way down before coming to a stop on its roof. “Amazingly, no one was injured,” he said.

The teens, a 17-year-old boy, who was driving, and a passenger, a 15-year-old girl, were both wearing their seat beats when the truck rolled, Despain said. He also said the truck was a full-size pickup, which possibly helped the teens escape injury.

The driver was issued a citation for improper lane travel.

Though the teens came away from the wreck unscathed, they were taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George for evaluation.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MoriKessler

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler@STGnews

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9 Comments

  • pappy July 20, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    Under 18 midnight curfew no longer in effect??

  • anybody home July 20, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    So many stories about “drowsy drivers” in this paper. Are they drowsy or drugged up?

  • fun bag July 20, 2015 at 3:09 pm

    DANG TWEEKER KIDS!!!!…!

  • Brian July 20, 2015 at 4:31 pm

    If the 17 year old boy and 15 year old girl weren’t siblings, the parents of the girl need their heads checked. 3 AM?

    • Simone July 20, 2015 at 6:18 pm

      Mormonism says that we are all brothers and sisters of Christ.

      • 42214 July 20, 2015 at 7:29 pm

        Doesn’t that lead to incest?

    • fun bag July 20, 2015 at 8:04 pm

      Bri don’t understand how modern day trailer park parenting works. If ur daughter aint pregnant by 15 u doin’ somethin’ wrong…

  • Dolly July 20, 2015 at 5:11 pm

    Does Mommy know you’re out at 3am?

  • fun bag July 20, 2015 at 8:08 pm

    “The driver was issued a citation for improper lane travel.”
    …
    What it takes to get a more harsh reprimand than “improper lane travel”? Seems like “improper lane travel” isn’t very fitting for a truck so smashed, no?

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