ST. GEORGE — A crash reconstruction team was called out to a motorcycle crash that killed one person on an Interstate 15 overpass late Wednesday night.
Emergency personnel respond to a motorcycle crash on the St. George Boulevard overpass of Interstate 15 that kills the motorcycle driver and leaves a passenger injured, St. George, Utah, July 24, 2024 | Photo courtesy of Adam Young, St. George News
Shortly after 10 p.m., emergency personnel responded to a crash on the St. George Boulevard overpass of I-15 involving a motorcycle with two riders. Both were transported to St. George Regional Hospital via a Gold Cross Ambulance. The motorcycle driver was reportedly pronounced dead shortly after arrival, while the passenger sustained serious injuries, St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News.
They were heading east toward the overpass, where the lanes change direction at the exchange, Mitchell said. The rider reportedly proceeded through a red light where the lanes cross over one another and collided with a vehicle heading west on a green light. The riders, both in their 20s, were thrown from the bike upon impact.
Mitchell said investigators determined that shortly before the crash, there was some type of verbal altercation or dispute between the man driving the motorcycle and another vehicle possibly traveling behind the bike. This may have caused the driver to become distracted.
Additionally, the rider possibly turned to look back and did not notice the light had turned red until it was too late, according to preliminary information gleaned at the scene.
According to a statement posted on the department’s Facebook page, the St. George Accident Reconstruction Team was called out to investigate the cause of the crash – efforts that closed both east and westbound lanes of St. George Boulevard at the overpass. All lanes were reopened and cleared for travel early Thursday morning. The investigation is still ongoing and no further details were available at the time of this report.
The St. George Police Department, the Utah Department of Transportation’s Incident Management Team, the St. George Fire Department, the St. George Accident Reconstruction Team and the Washington City Police Department responded to the crash.
This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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