ST. GEORGE — A crash involving three vehicles shut down a block of St. George Boulevard for about 40 minutes Wednesday morning. Police said drivers in two of the vehicles were uninjured, and there was also nobody injured in the third vehicle.

That’s because nobody was in the third vehicle.

Officers say the driver of a silver Hyundai Sonata parked their car at the Comfort Inn a half-block from the boulevard.

“They went inside the hotel and thought he left the car in park,” St. George Police officer Trevor Anderson said. “The car was in drive, ended up rolling down the hill.”

The crash occurred around 10:15 a.m. on St. George Boulevard between 900 East and 1000 East across from Pinkbox Doughnuts. That one-block westbound stretch of the boulevard was closed for about 45 minutes as St. George Police responded and the St. George Fire Department aided in cleanup. 

According to Anderson and witnesses, the vehicle rolled straight through the parking lot of the Maverik south of the hotel – about 133 yards – and onto the boulevard. 

The Sonata with no one at the wheel with gravity as its engine plowed into a Ford F-350 pickup that was headed westbound on the boulevard and carrying building materials in its bed.

The collision spun the pickup into the opposite direction in the westbound lanes, resting its tires against the curb. At the same time, officers said the centrifugal force of the spin dislodged the fiberglass tonneau cover on the truck bed, sending it into the eastbound lanes of St. George Boulevard. 

A black Chevy sedan traveling east, with a female driver as the sole passenger, was hit by the large piece of hard fiberglass. Any damage it sustained was not enough to keep it from being able to drive into the nearby parking lot and later exit under its own power. The tonneau cover was moved to the sidewalk before a tow truck driver removed it entirely.

The same could not be said for the sedan and the pickup, which each had to be towed.

The Sonata owner was cited for failing to secure a vehicle properly.

“You’re ultimately responsible for the condition of your vehicle,” Anderson said. “It’s good to double-check your vehicles and make sure you’re absolutely positive it’s in park. Set that parking brake.”

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

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