ST. GEORGE — A man was flown by helicopter in critical condition after his vehicle rolled and struck a tree off state Route 18 near Enterprise on Tuesday morning.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday, multiple police units and emergency personnel responded to a single-vehicle rollover on southbound SR-18 near mile marker 39 just south of Enterprise. Due to the severity of the incident, Mercy Air Medical Transport launched a helicopter to assist.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden told St. George News that responders arrived to find a red Ford F-350 pickup truck lying upside down and severely crushed next to a tree. The driver was critically injured and trapped inside of the wreckage, he said, adding that the man possibly suffered a head injury, as well as other serious injuries.
Officers assisted with traffic control while SR-18 was shut down in both directions to allow enough room for Mercy Air to land. Once the driver was extricated from the vehicle and then loaded into the helicopter, Roden said he was airlifted to St. George Regional Hospital in critical condition.
From the evidence collected at the scene, troopers say they determined that the man was heading south on SR-18 when the truck started to veer to the left until it left the roadway. The truck continued across a ditch, where it reportedly began to roll through heavy brush and rocks until it flipped over and slammed into a tree.
Shortly before the crash, emergency dispatch began receiving calls reporting an erratic driver traveling in a red Ford pickup truck, a description that matched the vehicle that crashed into the tree shortly after, Roden said. And the underlying cause of the reported erratic driving is still under investigation.
“They are still investigating what caused him to be driving erratically,” Roden said. “Since it could have been some type of medical issue or some other cause – we’re just not sure at this point.”
Even though the pickup was found well off the roadway, which helped with traffic, the highway had to be completely shut down for the helicopter to land, he said. This process took less than an hour and was followed by partial lane blockages while the vehicle was pulled from the ravine and towed from the roadway.
The Utah Highway Patrol, Enterprise Fire Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Mercy Air Transport responded and tended to the scene.
Photo Gallery
Ford pickup truck is loaded onto tow truck following rollover that left a driver critically injured on state Route 18 near Enterprise, Utah, Dec. 27, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the Enterprise Fire Department, St. George News
Pickup truck slams into a tree, critically injuring the driver during a single-vehicle rollover on state Route 18 in Enterprise, Utah, Dec. 27, 2022 | Submitted photo, St. George News
Pickup truck slams into a tree, critically injuring the driver during a single-vehicle rollover on state Route 18 in Enterprise, Utah, Dec. 27, 2022 | Submitted photo, St. George News
Mercy Air Medical Transport lands on state Route 18 to transport driver following single-vehicle rollover in Enterprise, Utah, Dec. 27, 2022 | Submitted photo, St. George News
Mercy Air Medical Transport prepares to land on state Route 18 to transport driver following single-vehicle rollover in Enterprise, Utah, Dec. 27, 2022 | Submitted photo, St. George News
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