UPDATED: 2 dead after crash next to Sunset Corner in St. George

Written by Chris Reed
June 18, 2021

ST. GEORGE — A collision between a sports utility vehicle and a sedan has resulted in the deaths of two people and the extended investigation closed off the stretch of Bluff Street in St. George between Sunset Boulevard and Snow Canyon Parkway for about three hours Friday night.

A Toyota Camry at the scene of a crash at Bluff Street and W. 1130 North Circle in St. George, Utah. June 18, 2021 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

Updated 8:20 p.m., This story has been updated to include the confirmed death of two people in the crash and the scene being cleared, as well as video.

Tiffany Mitchell, public information officer for the St. George Police, confirmed that two people died in the collision. Their identities or the status of any other victims has not been released.

The crash occurred around 4:45 p.m. at the corner of Bluff and West 1130 North Circle in front of Guru’s Sports Bar and Grill at the Sunset Corner shopping complex. Guru’s manager Raul Alcevedo was in front of the restaurant at the time and while he said he did not hear any crash, he did see the aftermath.

“It was a blink of an eye,” Alcevedo said. “We were talking and we turned around and suddenly a car was on the sidewalk and people were running to help.”

Alcevedo said the people trying to aid those in the sedan were struggling.

“We knew it was pretty bad because they couldn’t get the door open,” he said.

The stretch of Bluff remained closed to northbound traffic through the 6 p.m. hour, as did a portion of Diagonal Street leading to Bluff. Traffic was backed up on north Bluff and drivers were being advised to use Snow Canyon Parkway and Sunset to navigate that part of town until the scene is clear.

An Acura MRX at the scene of a crash at Bluff Street and W. 1130 North Circle in St. George, Utah. June 18, 2021 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

St. George Fire was briefly at the scene, but it was mainly taken over by St. George Police performing an accident reconstruction. Golfers continued playing on Dixie Red Hills Golf Course next to the street, seemingly oblivious to the investigation taking place right near them.

The light blue Toyota Camry was up on the decorative rock sidewalk across the street from Guru, the passenger-side metal seemingly ripped off the side – possibly by first responders.

A blue Acura MRV sat partially in the left southbound lane of Bluff and between the center lines, facing north. Its front hood was completely mangled in.

This report is partially based on comments by police personnel and may not include the full scope of the findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGNews

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