Pickup rams into traffic light, slowing Bluff Street traffic in St. George

Written by Chris Reed
February 21, 2024

ST. GEORGE — A pickup truck that police said came off Interstate 15 “going fast” in a steady downpour hit a traffic light on Bluff Street on Wednesday morning. The driver had to be extricated with minor injuries and while the traffic light remained upright and operational, it will still need emergency replacement.

Crews work to remove a Dodge Ram pickup that crashed into a traffic light pole at the Bluff Street on-ramp to Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

All of the I-15 on-ramps remained open but traffic was slowed on Bluff Street with one northbound lane blocked as crews continued to work through the morning. 

“He didn’t hit anyone else, so we’re grateful for that,” St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News at the scene. “But we’ve got a little bit of an inconvenience going on here for a minute. There’s that damage, that pole is really damaged.”

At its base, the traffic light pole on the northbound side of Bluff Street at the on-ramp was dented in almost like a slightly crushed soda can. But the light itself continued to flash its usual red, yellow and green. 

Both airbags deployed in the white Dodge Ram that hit the pole. The front of the pickup was left destroyed. Debris and broken glass intermingled with the pebble rock on the on-ramp.

According to a Utah Department of Transportation team at the scene, the traffic light can’t remain as it is.

“It’s going to need to be replaced. It’s an emergency replacement,” Jayden Smith, a UDOT maintenance worker, said noting that he didn’t think it was in any danger of falling. “I think it’s still pretty structurally intact, but we’ve got to get some engineers on this.”

Smith had no timetable for how quickly the light would be replaced. David Cordero, a spokesperson for the city of St. George, said the damaged light won’t make a dent in the city budget.

Crews work to remove a Dodge Ram pickup that crashed into a traffic light pole at the Bluff Street on-ramp to Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

“Bluff (Street) is a state road,” Cordero said. 

Along with the uncertain timeline of when the scene would be fully cleared and the light replaced, it was still undetermined how the crash itself took place. 

“He was northbound on I-15 and he got off this Exit 6 going fast. We don’t know how fast. We’re guessing 40 to 60 miles an hour,” Mitchell said. “When he came off and hit this pole, we don’t know if it was a medical issue or a speed or distraction.”

After being extracted, the driver was taken to St. George Regional Hospital but was reportedly released within an hour. 

“It could have been a lot worse,” Mitchell said.

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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