ST. GEORGE — Officers found a driver uninjured after his pickup truck traveled more than 100 feet down Foremaster Ridge Wednesday morning.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m. officers responded to a report of a single-vehicle crash on Foremaster Drive involving a pickup truck that went off of the road and down the steep hill.
Several officers arrived to find the driver out of the vehicle and uninjured and the truck sitting upright on the hillside below, St. George Police Officer, Ken Childs said.
The Dodge sustained significant damage to the undercarriage after hitting rocks, brush and large boulders as it careened down the side of the hill, destroying the front driver’s side tire and breaking the axle on its way down.
The driver told the officers he was heading south on Foremaster, and once the truck was on the downward grade he reached for something in the truck.
Childs said the driver had been informed of a family emergency just before the incident and was preoccupied when the truck went off of the roadway.
“The next thing the driver knows – he’s off of the road,” Childs said.
Instead of turning the steering wheel to the left, back toward the roadway, the man turned into the direction he was heading, allowing the truck to continue down the side of the hill without rolling over, which could have sent the vehicle rolling multiple times.
“Luckily he had the sense to head down the hill, instead of trying to pull the truck back toward the road or over-correct, which could have been a disaster,” Childs said.
On either side of where the truck came to rest were two deep ravines, and had the truck veered either to the right or the left, it more than likely would have started to roll farther and continued down the side of the hill at that point.
Using a range finder, Childs was able to estimate that the truck traveled 127 feet from where it left the asphalt. “And he walked away from that,” the officer said.
A large wrecker arrived at the the scene to pull the truck back onto the roadway, while a second wrecker was used to tow the truck to the yard.
The southbound lane of Foremaster was closed once the wreckers arrived, and traffic was diverted into a single lane directed by an officer.
No citations were issued in connection with the incident.
This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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Gold Dodge pickup truck veers off the roadway and heads more than 100 feet off Foremaster Ridge Wednesday morning, St. George, Utah, March 28, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Distance from the top of Foremaster Ridge where truck came to rest Wednesday, St. George, Utah, March 28, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Front drivers side wheel is severely damaged after Dodge pickup truck veers off the roadway and heads more than 100 feet off Foremaster Ridge Wednesday morning, St. George, Utah, March 28, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Officers and wrecker operators working to pull Dodge pickup truck up from Foremaster Ridge Wednesday morning, St. George, Utah, March 28, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Large wrecker used to pull Dodge pickup truck up from Foremaster Ridge after driver veers off roadway Wednesday morning, St. George, Utah, March 28, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News Red arrow depicts where pickup truck left the roadway before continuing 100 feet down side of hill on Foremaster Drive Wednesday, St. George, Utah, March 28, 2018 | Composite image made using Google Maps, St. George News
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