ST. GEORGE, Utah, Nov. 4, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A woman has been booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility after a fatal auto-pedestrian crash that killed the brother of a woman killed at the same intersection Wednesday.
Pickup truck driver Brianna Leigh Waters, who turned 28 on Wednesday, has been jailed for investigation of:
- Negligently operating a vehicle resulting in death, a second-degree felony
- Driving under the influence, two or more priors in 10 years, a third-degree felony
- Possession of a controlled substance schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
Waters was ordered held without bail.
St. George police were called to the scene at 8:47 p.m. Friday on a report of a vehicle traveling north on Bluff Street hitting a pedestrian, leaving him unresponsive.
“The witnesses said they observed the vehicle fail to stop for the red light, colliding with the pedestrian. Officers and medical staff attempted life-saving measures on the pedestrian, who ultimately succumbed to his injuries, and it appeared he died as a result of being struck by the vehicle.”
The driver, identified as Waters, remained on the scene.
“As we spoke with Brianna, she displayed indicators commonly associated with drug use,” the SGPD officer’s statement says. “As Brianna stood in front of us, we observed her hands to be fidgety. She had visible eyelids and body tremors, and she appeared very nervous. Brianna had glossy and bloodshot eyes, and her pupils appeared to be dilated.”
The man who had been hit died of his injuries, a SGPD statement says. Waters displayed symptoms consistent with drug use, which she initially denied, her affidavit says. Water then told officers she had used cocaine a week earlier, and later stated she had used it two days earlier, on her birthday.
Waters agreed to drug and urine tests, and the urine test came back positive for the presence of cocaine. Blood test results are pending.
Waters then admitted using cocaine just prior to leaving her house, about 30 minutes before the accident.
“She was asked if she thought about that before choosing to drive and if she thought it might be a bad idea,” her affidavit says. “She admitted she thought to herself before driving that it may be a bad idea since she just used cocaine, but felt it was a short distance and would be OK. Specifically, she said she didn’t think cops would detect it because she didn’t have alcohol on her breath.”
A SGPD news release confirmed the relationship between the Wednesday and Friday victims, who died in the same intersection.
“The pedestrian in this case was identified as the brother to the female pedestrian that died in an auto-pedestrian crash at the same location on Wednesday, Nov. 1. We offer our condolences to the families affected by these tragic incidents. Both cases are still under investigation.”
No arrests have been announced in the auto-pedestrian collision that killed the man’s sister on Wednesday. The names of the victims have not yet been released.
