Responders rescue woman trapped in minivan following T-bone collision

Emergency personnel tend to scene of two-vehicle crash on South 200 East and East 300 South Thursday, St. George, Utah, Aug. 3., 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A woman was sent to the hospital after becoming trapped in her minivan in a crash at a busy intersection Thursday afternoon.

Emergency personnel check vehicle after a driver is injured in a two-vehicle crash Thursday, St. George, Utah, Aug. 3., 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Shortly before 3:30 p.m. emergency personnel were dispatched to a crash on the corner of South 200 East and East 300 South involving a gold Chrysler minivan and a white handicapped-accessible transport van, St. George Police Officer Steve Linton said.

Upon arrival, officers found the extensively damaged Chrysler sitting in the middle of the roadway with the injured driver trapped inside. The woman was was extricated from the minivan several minutes later by firefighters and then transported to the hospital.

Linton said the extent and nature of the woman’s injuries were unknown at the scene, adding that he was going to the hospital to check on her.

Officers found the transport van parked next to the curb on the west side of South 200 East approximately 200 feet from the crash site. The driver and his two passengers were checked by EMS at the scene and were not transported to the hospital.

During the crash investigation, officers found that the driver of the Chrysler was heading east on East 300 South just as the transport van was headed south on South 200 East.

White handicapped transport van is damaged after a T-bone crash on South 200 East and East 300 South Thursday, St. George, Utah, Aug. 3., 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

“Preliminary reports show that the Chrysler heading east may have failed to stop at the stop sign and T-boned the handicapped van that was heading south,” Linton said.

The man driving the transport van had the right of way because he had no stop sign, the officer said.

However, those findings are preliminary since the crash is still under investigation.

The force of the impact caused extensive front-end damage to the Chrysler while the double electronic doors on the transport van were smashed in and their glass panels shattered. The metal molding around the doors and stairs of the transport van were damaged, as well.

Kirk Madsen lives at the Temple Terrace apartments on the southeast corner of where the accident occurred and said he had just stepped outside on his second story balcony when he heard the loud crash, turning his attention toward the corner.

He saw the Chrysler spinning around, he said, and it looked like the white van was also struck very hard.

“I heard a very loud crash and called 911,”Madsen said, “and told them I could still hear the woman screaming from the van, and to send an ambulance because she started screaming seconds after it happened.”

Emergency personnel tend to scene of two-vehicle crash on South 200 East and East 300 South Thursday, St. George, Utah, Aug. 3., 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Madsen said he hears tires screeching and drivers honking their horn multiple times a day from his apartment, adding that he observes cars heading down South 200 East not stopping at the stop sign or slamming on their brakes at the last second.

“I hear a lot of honking, and I don’t mean when drivers honk to say hello; they are honking to avoid crashing into someone flying through that intersection,” he said.

Traffic was completely blocked immediately after the crash occurred. Once police arrived, one southbound lane was reopened and traffic was then diverted away from the intersection. After nearly an hour, the vehicles were towed, debris was removed and both lanes were reopened.

The St. George Police Department, St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded and tended to the scene.

This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • DRT August 4, 2017 at 8:40 am

    Those signs do NOT say “HESITATE” they say “STOP!” People ignore stop signs routinely. Maybe they should make violating stop signs a mandatory $2500.00 fine! Then when people still ignore them, add jail time to it.

  • mmsandie August 4, 2017 at 9:39 am

    Problem solved, out 4way stop signs they have on tabernacle with flashing lights.

  • karensg August 4, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    When I first moved here I found the absence of 4-Way stop signs at 4-Way intersections shocking.
    Often the signs that ARE there are partially obscured by foliage.
    The deep drainage ditches by every driveway, with no reflectors, are bad enough.

    In the article a few stories back I thought it was telling that even a patrol officer wasn’t able to keep an eye on the non-stop crossroad to avoid a car that missed the sign.

    There are plenty of recipes for disaster around this area.

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