UHP identifies woman killed in head-on crash on SR-59
ST. GEORGE — Utah Highway Patrol released the name of the driver killed in the head-on crash on state Route 59 near Hurricane Saturday afternoon.
Melody Jessop Young, 46, of Colorado City, Arizona, died in the crash reported shortly after 4:30 p.m. near mile marker 18 involving a red 2002 Ford F-250 pickup truck pulling a flatbed double-axle trailer and a gray 2017 Ford Fiesta driven by Young, Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Grant Hintze told St. George News Saturday.
Read more: Head-on collision near Hurricane leaves 1 dead, 1 injured
The pickup truck was driven by an 18-year-old man who sustained a possible fracture to his leg or ankle in the collision and was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center by ambulance where he was treated and later released.
At the time of the crash, the pickup truck was heading east on SR-59 when there was a possible equipment malfunction with the truck’s front driver’s side tire that “may have lost its tread, which caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle that veered across the center line into oncoming traffic,” Hintze said.
The pickup struck the westbound Focus head-on, which likely killed Young instantly.
“Both vehicles were going highway speeds, so when they hit it was such a violent impact that neither the airbags or the seat belt could have saved the woman in the Focus,” Hintze said.
Hintze added that the findings are preliminary, as the fatal crash investigation is ongoing.
St. George News reporter Mikayla Shoup contributed to this report.
This report is based on statements from police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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A Ford F-250 pickup truck crashes into an embankment after the trailer separates during a head-on crash on SR-59, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 17, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News.
A Ford F-250 pickup truck crashes into an embankment after the trailer separates during a head-on crash on SR-59, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 17, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
A Ford F-250 pickup truck and trailer is on the side of SR-59 after a head-on crash, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 17, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
A Ford Fiesta is severely damaged in a head-on crash on SR-59 that killed a driver, Washington County, Utah, Nov. 17, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News
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