Crash in Washington City highlights increasing congestion, intersection ‘prone to accidents’

WASHINGTON CITY — On Monday afternoon, Ben Embleton was driving in his red Toyota RAV4 with his young son in the back seat when he said their vehicle was struck on the passenger side by another car turning left onto 3050 East. 

The Toyota RAV4 was occupied by an adult man and his young son at the time of the crash, Washington City, Utah, Oct. 25, 2021 | Photo by Ammon Teare, St. George News

The crash occurred shortly before 4 p.m. at a mid-block intersection between Petco and the Albertson’s shopping complex, an area that is particularly accident-prone.

“At this intersection, there’s almost always an accident or there’s somebody who’s going to be in an accident,” Embleton said. “People are trying to turn left and right here, nobody slows down and everybody always blocks the intersection. It’s almost impossible to turn left.”

Washington City Police responded to the incident and closed the median on 3050 East while the scene was cleared. The second vehicle, a maroon Honda Civic, was stuck in the median while Embleton’s Toyota was pulled to the west side of the intersection.

Police Chief Jason Williams said the woman driving the Honda Civic pictured here was cited for failing to yield, Washington City, Utah, Oct. 25, 2021 | Photo by Ammon Teare, St. George News

A woman between the age of 18 and 30 was driving the Civic, and preferred to remain unidentified. Elizabeth McCabe, a close friend of the woman that had arrived to help, echoed the sentiment of Embleton and said a light should be installed for everyone’s safety.

“This is the worst intersection in St. George,” McCabe said. “There needs to be something done now, because life is too precious. I come here all the time, and I’m scared because it’s like a freeway (3050 East) all the way down.”

Police Chief Jason Williams said the woman driving the Civic was cited for failing to yield. Gold Cross Ambulance paramedics were called to the scene as a precaution, but there were no injuries and the greatest damage was to the cars, Williams said.

That particular stretch of 3050 East leading up to Green Springs Drive sees heavy traffic due to an abundance of shopping and proximity to the freeway exit.

“During the process of this accident, we had another accident take place in nearly the same spot,” Williams said. “No injuries – just a rear-end collision that looks like they were more attentive to us than the roadway. This area is prone to accidents. A lot of it is that left turn, so we always encourage people to use traffic lights.”

Both vehicles involved in the Monday afternoon crash were towed from the scene, Washington City, Utah, Oct. 25, 2021 | Photo by Ammon Teare, St. George News

He also said motorists should expect more traffic and greater risk as the year draws to a close, largely due to an influx of visitors during the holiday season.

“People have got to pay attention and give themselves more time to get where they need to be,” Williams said. “We’ve got the snowbirds coming in, and it’s just gonna get more congested as we get through these winter months.”

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

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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