ST. GEORGE — A teen was killed when a passenger car rolled multiple times on Tech Ridge Drive in St. George on Sunday night.
Shortly before 11 p.m., officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to Tech Ridge Drive where it connects to Cloud Drive for a single-vehicle rollover involving a Honda Civic carrying two occupants.
St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News the car was occupied by an 18-year-old driver traveling with his 15-year-old brother, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
Officers arrived and found the passenger bleeding, unresponsive and with “agonal breathing,” Mitchell said. This refers to the gasping breaths that are automated and typically associated with a state of extreme physical distress.
Officers provided emergency aid at the scene, Mitchell said, and the teen then was transported to St. George Regional Hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Mitchell said the driver was not seriously injured in the rollover.
At the time of the crash, the Honda was heading south on Tech Ridge when the driver swerved to avoid hitting “something” in the roadway or ran across the roadway, Mitchell said, and lost control of the vehicle.
The car jumped the embankment beyond the hairpin curve and rolled 5-6 times before coming to rest just off the roadway. Both occupants remained inside the car during the crash, said St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker, adding the passenger’s injuries could have resulted from any number of factors, excluding ejection.
The crash area features a sharp bend in the road followed by a series of steep curves on a 12-degree graded slope.
The accident reconstruction team was called out to conduct an investigation that is ongoing, so no further details were released at the time of this report.
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