Van full of bareback riders en route to Dixie Roundup Rodeo flips

ST. GEORGE — A group of bareback riders received an unexpected ride on their way to the 84th annual St. George Lions Dixie Round-up Rodeo Thursday evening.

A Ford van is flipped onto its side after a pickup truck T-boned it in downtown St. George, Utah, Sept. 13, 2018 | Photo by Spencer Ricks, St. George News

The Ford van that the group was traveling in flipped onto its side when it was hit by Toyota pickup truck that didn’t stop at a stop sign at about 6:15 p.m. in downtown St. George.

The driver in the truck was traveling west on Tabernacle Street and when she came to the intersection of 700 East, “she didn’t observe the stop sign and blew right through it,” St. George Police Sgt. Jeremy Needles said.

The truck T-boned the driver’s side of the southbound van, causing it to spin around and tip over into the corner of the St. George City Cemetery, Needles said. Even though the truck was traveling 30 mph, that was enough to flip the van because of how tall the van was, Needles said.

No one was injured, and the bareback riders in the van rushed off to make it on time to the rodeo before their van was flipped back onto its wheels. The pickup truck only received minor damage from the crash and its driver was cited for running a stop sign.

The southbound lane of 700 East was closed as the van was flipped back right side up and towed from the scene.

The St. George Fire Department also responded to 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.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:  @STGnews | @SpencerRicks

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

7 Comments

  • Kilroywashere September 13, 2018 at 8:37 pm

    Bet those bareback riders would have never fathomed that driving in good ole St George is more dangerous than bucking Broncos on the rodeo ring. They seem like good sports on how they recovered from the incident. Maybe if we remove all the stop signs in Washington County and go back to rural driving rules we would all be safer. Glad though, our rodeo guests are ok. Yeeee haaaaaa. What is it going to take to get people to respect the rule of law in regards to simply coming to a stop at a damn stop sign? I HATE to fathom that answer anymore. Yes, I’m the guy that went to my local city council with an initiative addressing this exact specific issue in my neighborhood. Of course I got no response whatsoever, just a dirtly (dog stare) look from a guy at the door when I was leaving the chamber. Yup. Some thing you never forget.

    • LunchboxHero September 14, 2018 at 7:29 am

      @kilroy At least you cared enough to go to the council! Good for you.

  • 42214 September 13, 2018 at 11:25 pm

    Hope they stayed on for 8 seconds.

  • iceplant September 14, 2018 at 8:28 am

    What is it with Utah drivers and the complete disregard for stop signs?
    I see this every single day. Drivers blowing through stop signs like they aren’t even there.
    Stopping for a stop sign or a red light is the MOST BASIC driving law in existence. Why is that law so hard to obey?

  • No Name September 14, 2018 at 9:41 am

    Every damn time a driver runs a stop sign or stop light, whether it results in an accident or not, the citation is $3000.00. Shout it from the roof tops of social media, The Spectrum, etc., and make sure it’s paid…

  • tazzman September 14, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    Time to start putting the hammer down on fines for people who blow completely through stop signs like this. People could have been killed.

    I see enough people running red lights every single day it makes me wonder if people are simply distracted, on drugs, or simply feel entitled.

    But enough is enough. Increase the $ amounts. Force them to take a defensive driver class.

  • Kilroywashere September 14, 2018 at 10:50 pm

    The truth is that day I went to the city council I had been up all night. It was the day after Pioneer Day, when at 930 at night I woke up on my couch and saw red flashes coming thru my skylight. I heard large booms. I WAS LIKE WHAT THE #$%% (You know, as in what is happening???,). I went out front and then realized somebody was shooting professional mortar fireworks over my house from back in tne school yard 200′ from my house. The bursts had 15-20′ diameters and cinders were coming down in my yard and on top of the house. I called 911 and got no help. They said it was normal. Really? Now you would think, ok get over it, but less than just 4 weeks prior I had came home to witness a mysterious fire adjacent to my back wall, that could have burned down my house or caught the entire hill on fire. (This occurred just weeks prior to the Brianshead disaster that year). The entire SC fire dept was there, and got the fire out in time thanks to my neighbor’s kid who called 911. SCPD never found out what happened and told me it was a fire of unknown origin. Needless to say I celebrate Pioneer Day 48 hours after the official Pioneer Day from here on out and dedicate it to the Pioneers that didn’t make it, or died subsequently after arriving to Utah. It took all my effort to make it to the city council meeting the following day after the firework terrorization. I had been up.all night as I said. But regardless it did nothing in the end. The following week I got a hold of the local Mormon Bishop, ( note I’m not LDS) and brought to the forefront the issue of safe driving in my neighborhood, especially STOP Signs. And THAT WORKED! WHO would have thunk. YEP, I never give up. TRUE STORY. as crazy as it sounds.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.