ST. GEORGE — Three people went to the hospital Sunday night after a driver clipped a motorcyclist from behind and then crashed into a city light pole.
St. George Police were dispatched to the scene of the crash near the intersection of Bluff Street and West 200 South at approximately 9:30 p.m.
A woman driving a white Mitsubishi Galant was traveling north on Bluff Street when she hit a man riding a Honda street bike from behind, knocking the bike and its rider to the ground, St. George Police Sgt. Spencer Holmes said.
“She said she didn’t see the motorcycle driving in the lane in front of her,” Holmes said, “and clipped it from behind.”
That caused the Mitsubishi to slide to the right, Holmes said, where it jumped a curb and struck the light post, ramming it down.
The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet and was transported to the hospital in a Gold Cross ambulance.
“He was actually talking at the time of the transport,” Holmes said, “so he was in pretty good shape considering a crash at almost 40 miles per hour.”
The Mitsubishi driver and one other occupant, her granddaughter, were brought to the hospital by family members for medical evaluation. The extent of their injuries was unknown at the time this report was taken.
The driver of the Mitsubishi was cited for following too close, Holmes said.
The motorcycle was damaged and had to be towed away.
The Mitsubishi sustained significant front-end damage when it slammed into the light pole and was towed from the scene.
Northbound traffic on Bluff Street between West 300 South and West 200 South was blocked and diverted to a side street for approximately 30 minutes while the vehicles were towed and the scene was cleared with assistance from St. George Fire Department.
City street crews arrived to remove the light pole from the road.
“Usually they are pretty quick at getting those things fixed within the day,” Holmes said of light pole repair efforts by street crews.
The city’s risk manager will assess liability, Holmes said, and either the driver of the Mitsubishi or her insurance could be held responsible for the damage and repair costs of the light pole.
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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Cited for following too close! How about “Reckless Driving”!!!! The driver was obviously distraced, hopefully it’s standard practice to review cell phone records, there’s more to this story than they are letting on!!!!
Does she eed glasses?? A motorcycle isn,t a small item .. Once again a reason I don,t drive on bluff st..
She musta been blastin down that road like a cat outta hell. Time for grandma to turn in the license?
Someone I know was on a motorcycle sitting at a red stoplight in front of Costco, in St. George, and a car was stopped behind him. The light turned green and the person in the car just jumped on the accelerator and ran him over. Said she didn’t see him… I don’t get how people can be so oblivious!
she was probably staring at her “handheld device”, aka iphone
Subpoena the cell phone records….and sue the hell out of them, their kids, and theirs kids kids…
Or hey she could’ve been talking to her GRANDDAUGHTER!!! Any of you think of that??? No you are all to quick to blame the phones… I have a son that rides a motorcycle so I’m always watching the road, but I also have a seventeen yr old and a ten yr old that I talk to too… Oh and I have a phone but I’m not on it when I drive they do it for me!!! She could have looked over and said something and then bam it happened!!! I’m not saying its ok but why the hell is it always the phones fault when someone else is in the car too!!!