ST. GEORGE — Authorities suspect driving under the influence of alcohol played a part in a rear-end collision on Red Hills Drive Monday evening.
Around 5 p.m., a yellow car being towed behind a pickup truck was westbound on Red Cliffs Drive in the area of 1950 East when it was rear-ended by a blue Hyundai. The impact left the back end of the yellow car smashed in and the bumper hanging on the ground.
As for the Hyundai, St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell confirmed the driver attempted the flee the scene. The driver of the blue Hyundai was able to turn onto 1950 East and end up with a part of the vehicle’s front end on the curb before stopping. The driver then tried to flee on foot but was evidently too inebriated to get very far by the time police arrived, Mitchell said.
An officer on scene remarked the Hyundai’s driver was “plastered” and had an open container of alcohol in the car, which was confirmed by Mitchell.
After the driver was placed in the back of a St. George Police SUV and taken away, the remaining officer on scene began to remove some items from the car before it was towed. Those items ended up being the open can of seltzer and a box full of yet-to-be-consumed alcohol.
The cans were each opened and emptied into the gutter in what the officer called “a river of White Claw.”
No injuries were reported in connection to the crash, Mitchell said.
The Hyundai driver was arrested in connection with driving under the influence, having an open container in the car and attempting to flee 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.
Photo Gallery
Aftermath of a rear-end collision on Red Cliffs Drive near 1950 East in St. George. The driver of the blue Hyundai involved in the crash was arrested on suspect DUI charges, St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a rear-end collision on Red Cliffs Drive near 1950 East in St. George. The driver of the blue Hyundai involved in the crash was arrested on suspect DUI charges, St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a rear-end collision on Red Cliffs Drive near 1950 East in St. George. The driver of the blue Hyundai involved in the crash was arrested on suspect DUI charges, St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a rear-end collision on Red Cliffs Drive near 1950 East in St. George. The driver of the blue Hyundai involved in the crash was arrested on suspect DUI charges, St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a rear-end collision on Red Cliffs Drive near 1950 East in St. George. The driver of the blue Hyundai involved in the crash was arrested on suspect DUI charges, St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
Aftermath of a rear-end collision on Red Cliffs Drive near 1950 East in St. George. The driver of the blue Hyundai involved in the crash was arrested on suspect DUI charges, St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
A St. George Police officer pout alcoholic seltzer into the gutter. The box of seltzer, along with an opened container, was found in a car involved in a suspected DUI that occurred on Red Cliffs Drive, St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.