ST. GEORGE — A single-vehicle rollover accident involving one adult and multiple juveniles was called in to law enforcement dispatch at approximately 4:57 p.m. Sunday.
When the call initially came in, the accident was believed to be within Hildale City limits but was later found to have occurred at the El Cap Trailhead, which is outside the city limits on land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, Washington County Sheriff Sgt. Dave Crouse said.
Washington County Sheriff’s deputies, Utah Highway Patrol and BLM responded to the scene, but due to what Crouse called “jurisdictional confusion,” responders arrived to find that the people involved in the accident had all been transported by ambulance or self-transported from the incident.
“Much of it is still under investigation, we do know it was a 2001 Jeep Wrangler that had one adult and seven children,” Crouse said. “I don’t know the condition, I don’t know who was transported, so it’s still going to take extensive follow-up.”
The investigation is likely going to take several days, Crouse said.
Two children were brought to the fire station by their mother, Colorado City Fire Chief Kevin Barlow said. The two were transported by ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George with minor injuries.
“They had walked to the main road, they’d called, and she picked them up and brought them to the fire station,” Barlow said.
Three or four other children were seen at the fire station but not injured severely enough to be transported to the hospital, Barlow said. The accident happened in an area north of Utah Avenue, in the foothills.
BLM Law Enforcement Ranger Curtis Racker said the Jeep rolled in an area northeast of Oak Street in Hildale.
“He tried to go up a hill and didn’t make it,” Racker said. “He tried to go up a steep hill and as he was going up the hill it rolled over … rolled down the hill and ended up upside down.”
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
St. George News Reporter Julie Applegate contributed to this report.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.