St. George emergency crews use Jaws of Life to extract driver after a 2-vehicle collision

Written by Nick Yamashita
February 8, 2023

ST. GEORGE — Emergency responders were forced to use the Jaws of Life to extricate a woman involved in a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of 3000 East and Seegmiller Drive on Wednesday afternoon.

A woman had to be extricated from her vehicle following a two-vehicle collision in St. George, Utah on Feb. 8, 2023 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

St. George Police Sgt. Jace Hutchings told St. George News that at approximately 2:45 p.m., the driver of a GMC truck was heading east on Seegmiller and came to the stop sign, slowed and saw an oncoming vehicle traveling south on 3000 East.

The driver reportedly  “gunned it” to beat that vehicle coming. However, the teenage male driver did not see the black Lincoln Navigator traveling north on 3000 East, Hutchings said.

“He plowed into her and she rolled probably twice,” Hutchings said. “The seat belt luckily kept her in. She was upside down … but no visible injuries.”

The Navigator rolled and came to a stop on the east side of the road after hitting the cement base of a steel power pole. Other damages from the crash, which occurred about a half mile south of George Washington Academy, included the stop sign and street sign being uprooted along with a cement pole.

St. George Fire Department personnel used the Jaws of Life to extricate the woman from the Navigator, which had damage to the front of the vehicle.

The woman was transported by Gold Cross Ambulance to St. George Regional Hospital. The teenage driver had no apparent injuries and was released to his grandfather.

A woman had to be extricated from her vehicle following a two-vehicle collision in St. George, Utah on Feb. 8, 2023 | Photo by Nick Yamashita, St. George News

The husband of the woman transported arrived on the scene, and after police obtained the information they needed from him, he comforted the teenage driver who was shaken up. The husband left with a few pats on the teenager’s shoulder.

Hutchings said the teenage driver was given two citations — one was for failure to yield and the other for running a stop sign.

Hutchings, as well as all other police officers on the scene, emphasized the important role seat belts played in this crash.

Traffic was affected but vehicles were alternatively waved through by police officers with one lane remaining open.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Yamashita has extensive experience reporting for small town media, covering a variety of subjects and events for The Virgin River Times and The Progress in Southern Nevada. Before a career in journalism, he worked a variety of jobs in criminal justice systems. Yamashita holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Southern Utah University. He is an award-winning photographer and writer. He has been published in scholarly articles and poetry compilations. In his spare time, he practices and teaches martial arts.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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