Side-by-side veers off road; closely misses three bystanders

Witness: ‘Vinyl fencing came at us like bullets’

City employees clear away the top of a tree that a side-by-side took down after veering off the road near Rotary Park on Thursday afternoon. Photo by Carter Pape
By Carter Pape

Eyewitnesses who were mere feet away from a side-by-side that veered off Sand Flats Road near Rotary Park on Thursday afternoon said that the vehicle plowed through a vinyl fence, a small tree and a metal fence before skidding to a halt roughly 500 feet away.

Michael Chacon, Rick Martin and Rocky Audenried, all employees of Moab Construction, said they were helping a homeowner build a garage next to his house when the side-by-side came screeching through the front yard, missing the men by two feet.

Audenried at left and Chacon at right stand where they said they were when the side-by-side went through the vinyl fence at the left, leaving behind the shards of plastic at their in front of them. Photo by Carter Pape

“I thought somebody blew something up, and then here comes the Rhino (the side-by-side), jumping over all our tools, through a tree, through a metal fence, and then across that parking lot within four seconds,” Chacon said.

Chacon said the vehicle was going as fast as it could go; Martin said that it was going at least 50 miles per hour. Both said that they saw the driver, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, standing and walking about after the crash, complaining of fatigue.

A Tic Tac Tow truck hauls away the side-by-side that veered off the road and crossed a house’s yard. Photo by Carter Pape

Tineka Kerby, who lives in the house next to where the side-by-side stopped, said that she was first on the scene after the incident.

Kerby helped the man out of the vehicle, although he was fine to get out on his own she said, and that he complained of dizziness after she asked whether he was okay.

After closely missing construction workers, the side-by-side crossed a parking lot and ended up crashing into the brick fence shown here. Photo courtesy of Tineka Kerby

The Times-Independent is awaiting an update from Moab City Police, which is investigating the accident, regarding the man’s current health status and more information about how the incident occurred.