ST. GEORGE — Three individuals are lucky to be alive after an evening off-road trip took a deadly turn in the hills above Foremaster Drive Saturday.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m., a call came into the St. George Communications Center reporting a rollover on the large hill directly to the east of the intersection of Foremaster Drive and Riverside Drive South, St. George Police Lt. Joseph Hartman said.
Upon arrival officers found an older model Ford pickup truck perched on its side driver’s side down at the edge of a cliff and three occupants outside of the vehicle nearby. The initial report indicated that there were trapped occupants, however, they were able to exit on their own before responders arrived.
One of the truck’s occupants possibly suffered a broken arm during the incident, Hartman said, and told officers he would go to the emergency room to have the injury checked on his own.
Officers found after speaking with the driver and witnesses that the trio were making their way up the steep embankment, and as they neared the top of the hill, they realized there was no road to the west of the cliff – just a ledge several feet in width.
“When they got to the top of that hill they realized there was nothing on the other side,” Hartman said.
As the truck began sliding toward the ledge, it started to roll and stopped before it made a full 360 degree rotation, leaving the truck sitting on its side where officers found it. Had the truck continued rolling even one more time, it would have fallen more than 25 feet and crashed to the ground near Riverside Drive South.
The driver, who remained anonymous, said he felt very lucky to be alive and was astonished that the truck stopped where it did, realizing how close they all came to serious injury or possibly worse.
The truck was severely damaged and towed from the scene.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Brown Ford truck sitting on its side on a hill just a few feet from going over the edge and falling more than 25 feet, St. George, Utah, April 22, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Brown Ford truck perched on its side on a hill less than a foot from the edge of the cliff, St. George, Utah, April 22, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Brown Ford truck sitting on its side on a hill less than a foot from the edge of the cliff, St. George, Utah, April 22, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Top of the hill where the truck was sitting perched on its side with emergency responders shown below Saturday, St. George, Utah, April 22, 2017 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News
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Maters dad almost bit the dust..
Not too bad of an idea to find out what is on the other side of a steep hill! BEFORE you climb it.
Google Earth is your friend. But of course things change, and it might be an old image.
Absolutely no sympathy for doing something this idiotic. Too bad you didn’t include the phrase “idiot teens” somewhere in this article.