Rollover in Toquerville ends in 1st-degree felony arrest

ST. GEORGE — An Iron County woman is in jail on a felony DUI charge following a rollover crash in Toquerville that led to the discovery of fentanyl and methamphetamine, police say.

Chevrolet Tahoe is found overturned and partially off the road following a rollover on state Route 7 in Toquerville, Utah, Nov. 27, 2023 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Emergency responders and law enforcement responded shortly after 2 a.m. Monday morning to a rollover crash on state Route 17 near mile marker 1 in Toquerville.

Upon arrival, deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office learned the crash involved a black Chevrolet Tahoe. The driver and solo occupant of the SUV, 46-year-old Denise Keli Chastain, of Cedar City, was reportedly being treated by paramedics, according to charging documents filed in support of the arrest.

At the time of the crash, authorities say, the SUV was southbound on SR-17 when it veered out of the lane, went partially off the roadway, struck a boulder and rolled, taking out a road sign in the process. The vehicle came to rest upside down.

Earlier that same evening, an attempt to locate was broadcast out to all nearby law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for a wrong-way driver in St. George. The SUV in that incident ended up being a match to the vehicle they found overturned off the highway.

The driver, later identified as Chastain, reportedly admitted to responders that she was the driver. Though she complained of pain in her hip, she declined to be transported to the hospital, the report states.

After reportedly failing a field sobriety test, Chastain was arrested.

Sgt. Lucas Alfred with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office told St. George News it was what deputies found following the crash that led to several serious felony charges.

While being transported to St. George Regional Hospital for a blood draw, the deputy noticed the driver “dropping items she was not known to be in possession of,” as noted in the report.

Later, she admitted to trying to hide several pills in her pants, items that were later recovered at the hospital by police.

Once the suspect was cleared by medical staff, she was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility where corrections staff recovered suspected meth, fentanyl pills and other substances, as well as drug paraphernalia.

A criminal background check revealed two prior DUI arrests, one in 2016 and 2013, as well as multiple drug arrests during that same period — one of which was a first-degree felony distribution case filed in Iron County in 2020.

In accordance with Monday’s arrest, Chastain was charged with first-degree felony possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance based on the number of fentanyl pills that authorities say was too many “to be considered reasonable only for personal use” the deputy noted in the report.

Chastain also faces four third-degree felonies that include two counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of possession of marijuana and one count of DUI with two or more priors. She was also booked on tampering with evidence and possession of paraphernalia, each a misdemeanor.

The arresting deputy requested Chastain be held without bail, citing her as “a repeat offender and shows a disregard for public safety through her pattern of behavior.”

The request was approved and Chastain remains in custody without bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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Rollover in Toquerville ends in 1st-degree felony arrest

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