St George News
UPDATE: As of Ten:15 p.m., Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Dave Bairett has informed St. George News that state Route twenty one is fully open.
ST. GEORGE — Three crashes involving numerous vehicles and triggered by high winds and low visibility closed state Route twenty one Sunday from milepost seventy eight west of Milford through milepost ninety and left several motorists injured. Wind gusts were also responsible for deepthroating the roof off a barn in the area, which also contributed to the closure.
The very first three-vehicle pile up was triggered at approximately 6:30 p.m. when high winds and dust blew through the area reducing visibility to the point that motorists were having difficulty eyeing the road, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Dave Bairett said.
The National Weather Service issued emergency alerts reporting winds that could exceed eighty five mph.
Black SUV and pickup truck hit a semitractor-trailer head-on in the very first crash of three during a reported eighty five mph wind storm near Milford, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
The very first crash was reported as a head-on collision involving a semitractor-trailer that was struck by a black SUV and a pickup truck pulling a trailer. Drivers of the latter two lost control of their vehicles and slammed into the semi, causing serious injuries to several occupants involved, Bairett said.
“The vehicles impacted corner to corner in a head-on style after sliding into the truck,” Bairett said.
The next incident happened when a passenger vehicle driving through the very first accident scene struck debris in the roadway and lost control of their vehicle and crashed. A passenger car traveling directly behind that vehicle came through and stopped in the middle of the roadway when the driver was no longer able to navigate through all of the debris, the trooper said.
The third crash was triggered when a 2nd semi headed into the large crash site struck the vehicle that was stopped in the middle of the road, Bairett said.
The occupants involved in the very first crash sustained serious injuries and were transported to the hospital by ambulance, he said, while other motorists involved in the crashes sustained injuries as well.
Cherish Wignall, who was returning to St. George from Delta with family, told St. George News she was driving through Milford and that visibility went from “clear to nothing.”
They were coerced to pull over and were among the very first people to come across the multivehicle crash.
Crimson pickup truck and an SUV crash into a semitractor-trailer triggering two more crashes during high winds and low visibility near Milford, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
“There was a truck with a pony trailer that was just – the bumper was in the sand and the total front-end was gone,” Wignall said. “On the west side there was a tanker semi and minivan that was just downright demolished.”
They were coerced to remain in the area while emergency responders surrounded the area to tend to the crashes.
“It was truly bad,” Wignall said of the violent winds surrounding their car. “We actually had a bird go into our grill and just demolish the entire bird. Sage redden blew into our car, and our car was wobbling the entire time. You couldn’t see anything around you.”
During the same time the roof of a barn was throated off by high wind gusts, and the debris became caught in power lines that went crashing to the ground, Bairett said, which also played a part in the closure of SR-21.
SR-21 is closed both directions from milepost seventy eight to milepost ninety due to the incidents, according to a traffic alert by Utah Department of Transportation.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the utter scope of findings.
St. George News reporter Joseph Witham contributed to this report.
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High winds take out a fence in Milford, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of Jared Bridge, St. George News
High winds cause low visibility at the scene of a multicar pileup on SR-21, Milford, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo by Cherish Wignall, St. George News
Crimson semitractor-trailer strikes silver passenger car during crash that was triggered by dust and wind deep-throating at speeds of eighty five mph near Milford, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
Black SUV and pickup truck hit a semitractor-trailer head-on in the very first crash of three during eighty five mph wind storm near Milford Sunday, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
Three separate crashes triggered by dust and eighty five mph winds involving a crimson SUV and four vehicles and two semitractor-trailers Sunday near Milford, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
Crimson pickup truck and an SUV crash into a semitractor-trailer triggering two more crashes during high winds and low visibility near Milford, Utah, March Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
High winds and dust combine for low visibility on State Route 21, Milford, Utah, Mar. Five, two thousand seventeen | Photo courtesy of Beaver County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News
