Man who allegedly stole car in Cedar City seriously hurt in rollover crash near I-15 rest stop

Wrecked Pontiac sedan near the scene of a rollover crash near the southbound rest area of Interstate 15 at mile marker 45, Iron County, Utah, March 31, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — A man was seriously injured Thursday afternoon in a rollover crash involving an allegedly stolen vehicle.

The incident reportedly began shortly before 2 p.m. when an Iron County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull over the vehicle, identified as a red 2006 Pontiac G6 sedan, on southbound Interstate 15.

The deputy was following up on an attempt-to-locate notification that had gone out when the vehicle was reported stolen earlier in Cedar City, Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter told Cedar City News.

Although the details still are being investigated, the driver of the car is believed to have struck at least one other vehicle, a semitractor-trailer, near mile marker 51 as he headed south on I-15, the sheriff said.

“He passed several other semis on the right shoulder, but as far as I’m aware, he didn’t have any contact with any of those,” Carpenter added.

At one point, he said, the driver did briefly pull over for the deputy who had turned on his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop.

“My deputy got out to make contact, and as he was approaching the vehicle, the vehicle took off again,” Carpenter said. “So he started his pursuit.”

The vehicle ended up crashing a short time after the pursuit began, Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Humphries said in a separate telephone interview.

“Almost immediately after initiating the pursuit attempt, the subject attempted to take the exit to the southbound rest area at milepost 45 at the last minute, swerving across the lane losing control and rolling multiple times,” Humphries said.

Carpenter said the pursuing deputy had reported that the subject vehicle was straddling the white line at the edge of the roadway as the driver approached the rest area.

“My deputy wasn’t sure if he was going to try to go into the rest area or if he was going to bypass it,” Carpenter said. “And just when he thought that he was past the point that he couldn’t go into the rest area, the driver swerved into the rest area and lost control of the vehicle.”

The driver, who was ejected in the crash, sustained injuries that Carpenter called “pretty significant.”

An Intermountain Life Flight helicopter was dispatched to the scene and subsequently transported the injured man to St. George Regional Hospital for treatment.

Emergency responders treat injured driver and prepare him for transport via Intermountain Life Flight helicopter, at the scene of a rollover crash near the southbound rest area of Interstate 15 at mile marker 45, Iron County, Utah, March 31, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News / Cedar City News

“He was talking and coherent, but he does have some substantial injuries,” Humphries added.

Whether the allegedly stolen car belonged to a stranger or to a friend or family member of the suspect is still under investigation, authorities said.

A dog that was inside the vehicle and that is believed to have belonged to the car’s owner, was killed in the crash. Carpenter described the animal as a mid-size lab mix.

As of Thursday evening, the driver’s name had not been confirmed, as the man is believed to have initially provided false information to investigators.

The driver was identified on Friday as 21-year-old Sean Damian Peacock of Enoch, according to a news release issued by the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

Peacock is expected to be released from the hospital on Friday, upon which he will face charges related to this incident, the news release added.

The car had been reported stolen at approximately 1:42 p.m. Thursday from the parking lot of Iron County Care and Share in Cedar City, the release stated.

Three different law enforcement agencies are working together to investigate the case, the sheriff noted.

“Utah Highway Patrol has assumed investigation over the accident part, Cedar City Police is doing the motor vehicle theft part, and we’re doing the recovered vehicle and the pursuit part,” Carpenter said.

Access to the southbound rest area was closed for approximately 2.5 hours while the incident was investigated and the scene was cleared, UHP reported.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement 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.

Updated April 1, 12:15 p.m. to include the name of the driver involved in the crash, along with an updated photo from the scene, courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

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

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