Police arrest man following crash on SR-9 in Hurricane; 1 child injured

An SUV is destroyed after a crash in which a utility truck pulling a trailer jackknifed into oncoming traffic on state Route 9 in Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 15, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Brodie Rose, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A man was arrested for suspicion of DUI following a crash involving a truck that jackknifed into oncoming traffic in Hurricane Tuesday morning.

An SUV is destroyed after a crash in which a utility truck pulling a trailer jackknifed into oncoming traffic on state Route 9 in Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 15, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Brodie Rose, St. George News

At 7:15 a.m., officers and emergency personnel responded to the intersection of state Route 9 and 3700 West on a two-vehicle crash involving a utility truck pulling a trailer and a white SUV with two occupants, including a child who was transported to St. George Regional Hospital by ambulance with nonlife-threatening injuries.

According to a statement released by the Hurricane Police Department, at the time of the crash, the utility truck was heading east on SR-9, and as it approached the intersection, for an unknown reason, the truck went off the right shoulder of the roadway. The driver overcorrected to the left, which sent the truck into a spin and caused the trailer to jackknife into oncoming traffic where it struck the SUV heading west.

The trailer separated from the truck during the crash and was found overturned in the middle of the intersection, while the airbags in the SUV deployed upon impact and the vehicle was destroyed in the collision.

The driver of the utility truck, 42-year-old Dustin Eldridge Fremou, was arrested for suspected DUI shortly after the crash and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility facing three misdemeanors, including DUI with personal injury and possession of marijuana and paraphernalia. He also faces an infraction for a lane violation.

The information released by the Hurricane Police Department is based on the initial findings of the inquiry, the statement said, as officers continue to follow up with witness interviews in the ongoing crash investigation. 

According to a witness, the child may have suffered serious whiplash in the collision.

The Hurricane Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue responded and tended to the scene.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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