Police: Failure to yield causes crash, snarls traffic on Red Cliffs Drive

Written by Chris Reed
February 7, 2024

ST. GEORGE — The eastbound side of Red Cliffs Drive at the corner of 2450 East was closed for about a half hour Wednesday afternoon after a T-bone crash.

Close-up view shows damage to a Mercedes after acrash at the corner of Red Cliffs Drive and 2450 East, St. George, Utah, Feb. 7, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The collision occurred just before 3 p.m. in front of the Deseret Industries Thrift Store and involved a Jeep sports utility vehicle and a Mercedes-Benz sedan, both with drivers as the only passengers. 

Police said the female driver of the white Jeep Liberty was cited for not yielding to oncoming traffic.

“A Mercedes sports car was in (eastbound) inside lane on a yellow light and two vehicles were turning left from Red Cliffs onto 2450 East including the Jeep Liberty,” St. George Police Officer Ean Williams said. “The first car made it, the Jeep Liberty did not.”

Rainy weather was not cited as a factor, as the roads had mostly dried out in that section of town.

The passenger side of the Jeep was smashed in with the front passenger tire flat, while the front passenger side of the Mercedes was in pieces with engine parts spilling out. Both airbags were deployed in the Mercedes.

Gold Cross paramedics were on scene but both the female driving the SUV and the male driving the Mercedes involved in the crash were checked and cleared with both complaining of soreness but able to walk away. 

Photo shows damage to a Jeep Liberty after a crash at the corner of Red Cliffs Drive and 2450 East, St. George, Utah, Feb. 7, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

When the female driver got out of her vehicle, she patted the back of her Jeep, saying, “Thank you.”

Both vehicles had to be towed and the scene was cleared by 3:30 p.m. Williams said one of the main goals for officers at a crash scene is to get it cleared as quickly as possible, especially at such a busy intersection.

“It is a major thoroughfare. It’s a major artery in the city,” Williams said. “So yeah, we try and get it cleared as quickly as possible.”

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. 

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, 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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