HURRICANE — A man loading a gas can into the rear of his parked pickup truck at the Chevron station was injured Thursday when the driver of a modified vehicle behind him mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal and ran into him.
Just after 9 a.m. officers and emergency personnel responded to a reported auto versus pedestrian crash at the Chevron station located at 4390 W. State Street, Hurricane City Police Officer Jeff Adams said.
Upon arrival emergency medical services found the injured man on the sidewalk in front of the store, Adams said. The man was transported by ambulance to the hospital in stable condition.
A 53-year-old woman driving a 1992 Lincoln Town Car had pulled into the Chevron station behind the man’s 2016 Dodge pickup truck with the intention of getting gas, Adams said.
She backed the car up so she could pull it forward a few feet to get closer to the gas pumps. After pulling forward the woman tried to apply the brakes but hit the gas pedal instead, Adams said.
A man who had just finished filling a can with gasoline was placing it in the back of his pickup truck when he was struck by the Lincoln as the car launched forward, the officer said. The man became pinned between the front bumper of the Lincoln and the tailgate of his truck.
“The woman was driving her disabled friend’s vehicle,” Adams said, “and the car has been modified to accommodate for that disability, modifications that altered both the gas and the brake pedals.”
Since the woman wasn’t entirely familiar with the modifications, he said, she pressed on the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal which sent the car forward just as the man was standing at the tailgate.
The man was able to free himself and make his way to the sidewalk in front of the convenience store located less than 100 feet away. A bystander who saw the injured man called 911 from inside of the store.
Once EMS arrived they transported the man to Dixie Regional Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.
“The extent of the man’s injuries are unknown at this time,” Adams said.
No citations were issued at the scene, Adams said. Both women in the Lincoln said they were uninjured.
The Hurricane Police Department, Hurricane Valley Fire District and a ranger with the National Park Service responded and tended to the scene.
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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A white Lincoln Town Car remains at the gas pumps while officers are tending to the scene of an auto versus pedestrian accident at the Chevron station on West State Street Thursday morning, Hurricane, Utah, March 16, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Hurricane police officers respond to the Chevron station after a man is injured when he is pinned between two vehicles Thursday morning, Hurricane, Utah, March 16, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News A white Lincoln Town Car remains at the gas pumps while officers are tending to the scene of an auto versus pedestrian accident at the Chevron station on West State Street Thursday morning, Hurricane, Utah, March 16, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News
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