Crash Leaves Gaping Hole in Tropical Smoothie in St. George

The morning of January 23 in St. George started with a pickup truck crashing into a Tropical Smoothie location at Red Hills Parkway, leaving serious damage to the structure.

The St. George Police Department responded to the incident that occurred at about 5 a.m. when a driver careened off the road, over multiple lava rock boulders, through a tree, and ultimately crashed into the Tropical Smoothie establishment.

A statement from the SGPD’s Facebook page summarized the events of the accident.

The SGPD said, “On Jan. 23, 2024 around 0504 hrs., officers were dispatched to a single vehicle accident versus a building at 1010 E Red Hills Parkway. It was reported a single vehicle and the entire cab of a truck was inside the building and one male was walking outside the vehicle. When officers arrived, that's exactly what they found.”

The building suffered extensive damage from the crash bringing concerns over the structural integrity of the business.

The SGPD said, “The investigation found that the 29 male driver was traveling eastbound on Red Hills Parkway when the truck left the roadway, jumped the curb, struck two lava rock boulders, snapped an approximately eight inch in diameter tree in half before striking the building. The building suffered significant structural damage. St. George Fire Department- Utah braced the wall prior to removing the truck from the side of the building.”

As for the driver, the 29-year-old man suffered from minor lacerations on his face but was otherwise in good health…is what I would say if he was sober during the incident.

The SGPD said, “The male drive and solo occupant of the vehicle suffered minor facial lacerations. He was checked by Gold Cross Ambulance staff and denied medical treatment. Thankfully, no one else was injured. Field Sobriety Testing was completed on the male and he was ultimately arrested.”

The list of violations includes improper lane travel, speed too fast for conditions, expired registration, denied driver’s license, refusing a chemical test, driving with an open container of alcohol, drug possession, and possession of paraphernalia.

The SGPD said, “This incredibly unfortunate incident was PREVENTABLE! Driving is a privilege not a right. If you feel different, you drive different.”

The Tropical Smoothie at Red Hills Parkway will be closed until further notice as a result from the crash.