‘What in the world?’: Fiery crash in Hurricane leads to an unidentified fatality

ST. GEORGE — An early morning crash in Hurricane led to a vehicle being consumed by fire and one fatality, according to officials.

An early morning crash leads to an engulfed SUV and a fatality in Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 11, 2024 | Photo courtesy Hurricane Valley Fire & Rescue Facebook, St. George News

Sgt. Dan Raddatz, public information officer with the Hurricane City Police Department said at approximately 2:25 a.m. on Feb. 11, police were dispatched to the area near mile marker 21 on state Route 59 due to a notification of a traffic crash that came from an iPhone.

A few minutes later, dispatch received a call stating a vehicle had gone off an approximate 200-foot cliff in this same area near the Hurricane overlook. Officers responded along with Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue.

Hurricane resident BJ Hawkins told St. George News he was sleeping around 3 a.m. when his fifth-wheel trailer began shaking.

“It felt like an earthquake, and I thought, what in the world? I’d never felt an earthquake that strong,” Hawkins said.

An early morning crash leads to a fatality in Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 11, 2024 | Photo via Hurricane City Police Department’s Facebook page, St. George News

He saw red flashing lights through the curtains and just up the road, a fire truck and ambulance. He also observed light streams from flashlights beaming around Hurricane Hill.

According to a post on the Hurricane Valley Fire & Rescue Facebook page, first-arriving emergency crews located a vehicle that had gone off the road and into a canyon. The drop was estimated to be between 150-250 feet. At the time of arrival, the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Fire crews deployed approximately 600 feet of hose from the east side of 450 North to extinguish the fire.

“Unfortunately, due to the distance of the vehicle from access points and the intensity of the fire, officers and firefighters were not able to help any possible passengers in the vehicle at that time,” Raddatz said in a press release.

At this time, detectives and members of the accident reconstruction team are on scene and the accident is still under investigation.  Additional information will be released at a later time.

“The vehicle was recovered but because of the damage, we can only confirm that it is an SUV and one occupant was found deceased but has not been positively identified at this time,” said Raddatz.

The Hurricane City Police Department responded along with Engine 43, Medic 43, Medic 41-1 and Battalion 41.

The area around Hurricane Hill is susceptible to accidents, as previously reported by St George News.

An early morning crash leads to a fatality in Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 11, 2024 | Photo courtesy Hurricane City Police Department Facebook, St. George News

At the same mile marker on SR-59, a man was taken to the hospital after rolling his truck in Oct. One year ago, a Hurricane teen fell to his death while hiking in the area.

In 2020, another driver died after driving off a cliff near the Hurricane Hill area. And in 2015, a semi-truck driver was found dead after his vehicle left the road.

This report is based on statements from police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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An early morning crash leads to an engulfed SUV and a fatality in Hurricane, Utah, Feb. 11, 2024 | Photo courtesy Hurricane Valley Fire & Rescue Facebook, St. George News

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