VEYO — A three-vehicle crash on state Route 18 about a half-mile south of the turnoff for the Veyo Pools Resort left two people critically injured, including one person driving a Rocky Mountain Power vehicle who had to be airlifted to the hospital.
The crash occured around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday at mile marker 19 of SR-18 and involved a dark blue Mercedes-Benz 3500 van, the white Rocky Mountain Power Ford F-350 pick-up truck,and a utility truck towing a trailer with each vehicle having a male driver as the only occupant.
Officers are unsure of the exact cause of the crash and were continuing their investigation through the afternoon.
The drivers of both the pick-up and utility truck needed to be extricated. The driver of the pick-up was in the worst condition – enough that an Intermountain Life Flight helicopter landed on Veyo Resort Road and airlifted that driver to St. George Regional Hospital.
Simultaneously, the driver of the utility truck was taken by Gold Cross Ambulance to the hospital.
“Those patients are what we consider red, which is a very high priority on medical,” Dammeron Valley Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Ryan D’Ambrosio said at the scene. “These are critical injuries.”
D’Ambrosio added the driver of the van was checked by crews at the scene but refused medical treatment or transport to the hospital.
At the scene of the crash, the utility truck was on the side of the road with its trailer balanced in the air on top of its backside. The truck’s cab was crushed with the driver’s side door sitting about 20 yards from the rest of the vehicle, which was surrounded by debris in the dry grass.
The pick-up remained on the northbound side of the road, albeit facing the wrong way as if it had spun out with all airbags deployed. The front and both sides of the truck were damaged, with the worst damage on the rear passenger side – the metal of the vehicle seemingly peeled off and flapping in the wind like paper.
The van took the brunt of damage on the rear driver’s side. It was able to be driven but was taken by a tow vehicle like the two other vehicles.
As a combination of the Utah Highway Patrol and the Washington County Sheriff were piecing together how the crash occurred, SR-18 was down to one lane of alternating traffic throughout the afternoon in the area. Officers and firefighters with Dammeron Valley, Brookside and Veyo fire departments helped with traffic and cleanup.
The UHP is leading the investigation into the crash, with a drone surveying the scene.
“We’re still trying to get to the bottom of it,” Trooper Tim Leak said.
However, troopers think it started with the van cautiously slowing down and a chain reaction behind it.
“I just think people didn’t slow down in time,” Leak said. “Someone was mowing the grass or the weeds or something on the side of the road. So the van slowed down for that, and the people behind them weren’t able to slow down.”
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Photo Gallery
An Intermountain Life Flight helicopter takes off after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
An Intermountain Life Flight helicopter takes off after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A smashed utility truck with its towed trailer resting atop it is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
The site of three-vehicle crash on state Route 18 is seen near a directional sign for the Veyo Pools Resort, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A Rocky Mountain Power pickup truck is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
First responders survey the scene of a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A smashed utility truck with its towed trailer resting atop it is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A smashed utility truck with its towed trailer resting atop it is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A smashed utility truck with its towed trailer resting atop it is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A Rocky Mountain Power pickup truck is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper examines a smashed utility truck after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A Rocky Mountain Power pickup truck is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
Damage is evident after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A Rocky Mountain Power pickup truck is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
With the Veyo Volcano rising in the background, first responders survey the scene of a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
Debris left from a utility truck after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
First responders survey the scene of a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
The injured driver of a Rocky Mountain Power vehicle is loaded aboard an Intermountain Life Flight helicopter, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
A smashed utility truck with its towed trailer resting atop it is seen after a three-vehicle crash on state Route 18, Dammeron Valley, Utah, July 3, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.
Chris Reed serves as a reporter for St. George News, where he has been honored with several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work, including first-place accolades. He started his journalism career as a sports reporter and editor in Southern California where he once compared shoe sizes with Shaquille O'Neal and exchanged mix tapes with members of the Los Angeles Kings. After growing up in the San Fernando Valley learning karate skills from Mr. Miyagi and spending a decade in Las Vegas mostly avoiding the casinos, he came to St. George for love and married his soulmate, a lifetime Southern Utah resident. He is the proud father of two boys, his youngest a champion against both autism and Type 1 diabetes.
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