ST. GEORGE — A driver was transported to the hospital Thursday night following a rollover on Diagonal Street that left the vehicle upside down in the front yard of a residence and closed the street to all eastbound traffic.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., a resident called the St. George Communications Center reporting a rollover crash, which resulted in the car landing upside-down in the front yard of a residence on Diagonal Street approximately two blocks west of Bluff Street in St. George.
Officers arrived to find an overturned black Ford sedan with an injured driver, 41-year-old Wendy Armstrong, trapped inside, according to charging documents filed with the courts.
The driver was extricated from the wreckage through the passenger side of the vehicle and then transported by ambulance to St. George Regional Hospital.
Officers were then tasked to investigate the cause of the rollover, St. George Police Sgt. Matt Sherman told St. George News from the scene.
Sherman said officers were unable to speak to the driver since she was immediately transported to the hospital, and other than the debris littering the roadway, there were no skid marks or any other evidence that pointed to the cause of the rollover. He said it would take a few more hours to figure out what had taken place.
Authorities say they found damage to the undercarriage of the Ford consistent with the vehicle striking the deep culvert on the westbound side of Diagonal Street, which likely caused the car to flip over. Based on statements made at the hospital by the driver, police say they determined that Armstrong’s vehicle was initially heading east when the car crossed over into the westbound travel lane.
The Ford then continued veering to the left and off the roadway, where it struck the culvert that flipped the vehicle upside-down, authorities allege.
At the hospital, officers spoke to Armstrong who reportedly said the last thing she remembered was heading east on Diagonal Street. She said she did not believe she had fallen asleep or lost consciousness prior to the crash, the report states. She said she knew she had been involved in a crash, and “hoped that she had not hit anyone,” the officer noted.
The driver was administered a modified field sobriety test due to her injuries. Once she was released from the hospital, she was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility shortly before 11:30 p.m. on charges of suspected DUI and driving the wrong way on a divided highway, each a misdemeanor.
The Ford sustained extensive damage. After being pulled from the yard and flipped upright, it was towed from the roadway.
This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Photo Gallery
Vehicle overturns during a single-vehicle rollover on Diagonal Street in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Debris is scattered across roadway following single-vehicle rollover on Diagonal Street in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Ford passenger car is loaded onto tow truck following single-vehicle rollover on Diagonal Street in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Ford passenger car is heavily damaged in single-vehicle rollover on Diagonal Street in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Debris is scattered across roadway during single-vehicle rollover on Diagonal Street in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News 
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