Three accidents call for Life Flights in a week; officials urge motorists to drive safely

The Kane County and Arizona Strip area saw a streak of vehicle collisions in the last few weeks, many of them serious enough to warrant a Life Flight call - and at least one with multiple fatalities.

On September 12, be­tween midnight and one a.m., a van carrying a fam­ily of four was navigating construction south of the Hancock Road turnoff north of Kanab on highway 89, when a southbound full-size Dodge pickup ran a red light and collided head-on. The truck was towing a gooseneck trailer with a Tesla and two smaller box trucks in cargo.

Left to right:

• Photo via Kane County.

• Photo via Kanab City Fire Department.

Two ambulances, a tech­nical rescue firetruck and a Life Flight helicopter responded to the scene - according to emergency responders, two of the van’s passengers were pronounced dead on-scene, and the other two were able to escape the wreckage on their own. The driver of the truck was also able to extricate himself from the wreckage, and was flown to a hospital in St. George, while the van’s surviving passengers were transport­ed by ambulance in non-critical condition. Reports from emergency responders stated recent upgrades to the rescue truck, especially an improved winch system, were instrumental in sepa­rating the collided vehicles.

On September 18, at about two p.m., a motorcycle ran off the highway, leaving the driver severely injured, prompting an ambulance, rescue truck and LifeFlight helicopter to respond.

According to a post by the Kanab City Fire Depart­ment, “We want to give a shout-out to Life Flight for their quick response, and Sun Rock for their help in getting through the con­struction north of town to help reduce any potential delays due to one-lane traffic and road construc­tion. We are grateful to live somewhere where there are resources available to get patients the care they need, especially in such a rural community. We are also grateful to the public; we know it’s not easy waiting on one lane traffic or stop­ping when the road is shut down to land a helicopter, but it keeps us safe and al­lows us to do our jobs.”

While no formal state­ment has been made, some responders to the situation report the injured individu­al to be in stable condition and recovering.

On Saturday, September 20, a pair of minors stole a neighbor’s truck, resulting in a pursuit that ended with one in critical condition. The driver reportedly start­ed accelerating the vehicle upon being pursued by the owner and, subsequently, law enforcement. Some reports indicate the pursuit reaching speeds above 80 miles per hour, and indicate significant property damage along the route.

The pursuit conclud­ed when the truck took a high bump and staked the nose of the truck into a berm near the Kanab Sew­age Treatment Ponds - the driver, age 11, was ejected through the windshield, and was Life Flighted in critical condition. The passenger, age eight, was wearing a bicycle helmet and had seat­belted himself in; he suffered only minor injuries. According to reports, the driver is in a medically induced coma and is expected to recover.

Authorities com­menting on these in­stances urged drivers to drive alert, espe­cially during common road disruptions like changes in weather or construction. As the summer season gives way to autumn, the last waves of tourism and other visitors unfa­miliar with local roads are coming through, coinciding with large increases in family traffic associated with school and extracur­ricular events across the state. Monsoon season means the pos­sibility of sudden bad weather, and some road maintenance or­ganizations are push­ing work speeds to con­clude projects before winter bad weather and promised dead­lines, causing shift­ing construction sites and lane confusion. According to UDOT stats, 2025 has been a better year for traffic accidents than 2024, with a common senti­ment being hopes those numbers continue to stay down and people work to stay safe.