Car sails over cliff near Tech Ridge in St. George; recovery team negotiates rocky incline during rescue

Written by Stephanie DeGraw
March 12, 2024

ST. GEORGE — A car went over the cliff, rolled and landed right-side up below Dixie Technical College at Tech Ridge above Monster Storage on Tuesday.

First responders converse near Tech Ridge at the scene of an incident where one patient was transported to the hospital after her vehicle went off a cliff in St. George, Utah, March 12, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News that a 41-year-old female driver was the only occupant in the Hyundai Tucson. Police would not speculate on the cause of the incident.

Mitchell confirmed, however, that an anonymous caller dialed 911 to report the incident at 12:35 p.m.

The St. George Fire Department responded and roped the female down the hill in a stokes basket. Then firefighters and other first responders worked together to bring her down the hillside to a waiting ambulance behind Monster Storage.

“She is injured and en route to the hospital,” Mitchell said near the incident response scene at the bottom of the cliff near the intersection of 700 South and Bluff Street. “Right now that is all we know.”

Mitchell said the female was talking to first responders while being loaded into the ambulance for transportation to St. George Regional Hospital by Gold Cross ambulance personnel.

Multiple tow trucks were used to recover a vehicle that went off a cliff near Tech Ridge in St. George, Utah, March 12, 2024 | Photo by Haven Scott, St. George News

St. George Fire Department Chief Robert Stoker said a mixture of St. George Police Department, fire department and Gold Cross Ambulance responders worked together to remove the patient from the wrecked vehicle and down the rocky hill.

“I’m not sure of the circumstances of why the individual went off (the cliff) or the extent of her injuries,” he said.

A heavy-duty tow truck was used to hoist the car back up the cliff, where it lost a tire and rolled again, coming to rest upside down at the cliff’s topside.

The vehicle was then uprighted and loaded onto a flatbed tow truck by operators on the scene.

This report is based on preliminary statements from law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Reporter Haven Scott contributed to this article.

Photo Gallery

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie DeGraw is an award-winning journalist. For 25 years, she engaged in journalism, broadcasting and public relations. DeGraw worked for the Salt Lake Tribune, Associated Press and The City Journals. She was a reporter for a CBS television station in Twin Falls, Idaho. She graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Broadcasting.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!