Head-on crash at Washington City intersection leaves 2 with serious injuries

ST. GEORGE —A two-vehicle crash set in motion when a driver failed to yield Tuesday morning left three people injured and tied up traffic at two intersections in Washington City.

Emergency personnel work to clear scene of two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Washington Fields Road and Washington Dam Road in Washington City, Utah, April 6, 2021 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Shortly before 8:15 a.m. officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to the intersection of Washington Fields Road and Washington Dam Road on a two-vehicle crash involving a black Jeep and a yellow Ford pickup truck.

Washington City Police Lt. Kory Klotz told St. George News that once responders arrived they found two men in the pickup truck who were injured. Once they were freed from the wreckage both were transported to St. George Regional Hospital by ambulance.

The teenage driver in the Jeep was also transported to the same hospital by a family member as a precaution.

At the time of the crash, Klotz said, the Jeep was heading north on Washington Dam Road while the pickup was heading south on the same street. When both vehicles approached the intersection, the traffic light was yellow, and the pickup truck turned left directly in front of the northbound Jeep and was struck, with the passenger’s side of the pickup taking the bulk of the impact.

Pickup truck that was struck nearly head-on during a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Washington Fields Road and Washington Dam Road in Washington City, Utah, April 6, 2021 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The force of the impact destroyed the front of the pickup and partially crushed the cab, leaving the driver with injuries to his wrist and legs, while the passenger sustained head and leg injuries, Klotz said, adding that both men sustained extensive injuries but none that were life threatening.

Three independent witnesses stopped and spoke to police, and all reported that both vehicles entered the intersection on a yellow light, which confirmed that neither vehicle ran a red light.

However, Klotz said, the investigation revealed that the pickup truck made the turn without yielding to the Jeep, so the driver of the pickup will be cited for failing to yield on a left turn, “as well as a few other citations for what was found during our investigation.”

The airbags in both vehicles deployed upon impact, and all occupants were properly restrained at the time of the crash, Klotz said.

Both vehicles were towed from the roadway, and traffic was impacted for more than 45 minutes as responders tended to the scene and diverted traffic.

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

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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