Pickup rams into traffic light, slowing Bluff Street traffic in St. George (2024)

ST. GEORGE — A pickup truck that police said came off Interstate 15 “going fast” in a steady downpour hit a traffic light on Bluff Street on Wednesday morning. The driver had to be extricated with minor injuries and while the traffic light remained upright and operational, it will still need emergency replacement.

All of the I-15 on-ramps remained open but traffic was slowed on Bluff Street with one northbound lane blocked as crews continued to work through the morning.

“He didn’t hit anyone else, so we’re grateful for that,” St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News at the scene. “But we’ve got a little bit of an inconvenience going on here for a minute. There’s that damage, that pole is really damaged.”

At its base, the traffic light pole on the northbound side of Bluff Street at the on-ramp was dented in almost like a slightly crushed soda can. But the light itself continued to flash its usual red, yellow and green.

Both airbags deployed in the white Dodge Ram that hit the pole. The front of the pickup was left destroyed. Debris and broken glass intermingled with the pebble rock on the on-ramp.

According to a Utah Department of Transportation team at the scene, the traffic light can’t remain as it is.

“It’s going to need to be replaced. It’s an emergency replacement,” Jayden Smith, a UDOT maintenance worker, said noting that he didn’t think it was in any danger of falling. “I think it’s still pretty structurally intact, but we’ve got to get some engineers on this.”

Smith had no timetable for how quickly the light would be replaced. David Cordero, a spokesperson for the city of St. George, said the damaged light won’t make a dent in the city budget.

“Bluff (Street) is a state road,” Cordero said.

Along with the uncertain timeline of when the scene would be fully cleared and the light replaced, it was still undetermined how the crash itself took place.

“He was northbound on I-15 and he got off this Exit 6 going fast. We don’t know how fast. We’re guessing 40 to 60 miles an hour,” Mitchell said. “When he came off and hit this pole, we don’t know if it was a medical issue or a speed or distraction.”

After being extracted, the driver was taken to St. George Regional Hospital but was reportedly released within an hour.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Mitchell said.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Photo Gallery

Broken glass intermingles with the pebble rock at the Bluff Street on-ramp to Interstate 15 after a Dodge Ram pickup smashed into a traffic light pole, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The base of a traffic light pole that was dented by a Dodge Ram pickup at the Bluff Street on-ramp to Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The mangled front of a Dodge Ram pickup that crashed into a traffic light pole at the Bluff Street on-ramp to Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

A sign to Interstate 15 that was knocked down and ground disturbed after a Dodge Ram pickup crashed into a traffic light pole at the Bluff Street on-ramp to Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

Crews work to remove a Dodge Ram pickup that crashed into a traffic light pole at the Bluff Street on-ramp to Interstate 15, St. George, Utah, Feb. 21, 2024 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

Pickup rams into traffic light, slowing Bluff Street traffic in St. George (2024)

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