Another Rollover Crash Leads to Death of Washington City Man

A 47-year-old man was unfortunately found dead following a rollover accident on State Route 18 on the morning of November 27.

The man has been identified as Washington City resident Kerry F. Hafen with many friends and family mourning the sudden loss of their loved one through social media posts.

Sergeant Lucas Alfred from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office provided details regarding the incident that took Hafen’s life.

Sgt. Alfred said, “There was a call into the communications center early this morning and the information that came in said that a person saw a vehicle that appeared to have rolled off of State Route 18 just North of mile marker 28.”

According to details from the preliminary investigation, Hafen was reportedly traveling south toward St. George when the vehicle went off the road, possibly due to high speeds, and rolled into a tree. Hafen was reportedly ejected from the vehicle into the nearby area where first responders found him.

Sgt. Alfred said, “Once first responders arrived on the scene, they started scouring the area and we did locate somebody who was presumed to be the occupant of the vehicle. We assume that they are the sole occupant and driver of the vehicle as there were no other signs of anybody leaving the area.”

The sergeant then provided some advice to those looking to drive on the roads during the winter months while saying the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Sgt. Alfred said, “Mainly, we need people to slow down this time of year as we do have a lot of weather-related issues. It would not shock me if the road was slick at this time of morning that this was called in. We do know we had some snow up in the mountains the past few days, which could result in condensation on the roadways, and in the morning hours, these factors can make the road freeze and make the roads slick. So, you definitely need to be watching your speed out there.”

As always, we’d like to offer our thoughts and prayers to the friends and family affected by the loss of their loved ones. Please stay safe out there.