ST. GEORGE – The passenger in Saturday’s fatal Corvette accident on state Route 7 in St. George, also known as Southern Parkway, has been released from the hospital, a family friend told St. George News Sunday.
Dustin Cummings, 27, of Washington City, was riding as a passenger in a white Corvette driven by Colin Wiest, 32, of St. George, Saturday afternoon. Wiest is believed to have been traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Shawn Hinton said in an interview Saturday. As the Corvette crossed the threshold of the River Road structure on SR-7, the car became airborne and crashed into the guardrail, lodging beneath it and sliding approximately 200 feet. The guardrail pierced the car and impacted Wiest’s neck, Hinton said. Wiest was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cummings, the passenger in the Corvette, was taken from the accident scene to Dixie Regional Medical Center Saturday in critical condition. As of Sunday night, Cummings has been released from the hospital but will continue to be closely monitored, Kelsi Simpson, a family friend who went to school with Cummings, said.
“He is still not out of the woods yet,” Simpson said.
Cummings sustained a severe injury to one arm and came close to losing an eye as a result of the accident, Simpson said. He additionally has bleeding on his brain.
“He is in a lot of pain right now,” she said.
UHP investigators were performing additional accident reconstruction at the site of the crash as of Sunday afternoon to try and ascertain the precise speed at which the Corvette was traveling, UHP Sgt. Danny Ferguson said.
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how fast was the car going?
131 MPH per accident speed survey by law.
Wait . . . ” He additionally has bleeding on his brain ” but he has already been released ?
Aren’t those normally monitored IN hospital for at least a week ?
Brain edema can turn on a dime & if the person in not continuously monitored , the consequences can be horrible .
You’re right, Mary — it doesn’t make sense.
FIRST of all, Utah automobile insurance policies are “no fault” (meaning you are automatically covered for medical needs as a result of an accident IN THE CDAR YOU ARE IN).
There is NO need for this guy to have been released unless that car was uninsured….then it’s lawsuit time.
I’ve had three Corvettes and gone faster in each of them, but on the track, not a highway. Stupid.
sure Dan. Tell us another cool story bro.
Well, Protect The Sheep, you don’t have to believe it, but it is true. Had a 93, 01, and 08. Had to sell the 08 because wife couldn’t get in it any more after major back surgery. I could dig up photos from the drag strip, but since I don’t care whether some random guy believes it or not, I’m not going to bother.
100+ mph, endangering himself, his friend and the general public. Do I feel for the dead man’s family, yes. Do I feel for the dead man, NO.
After seeing the picture of that car, I don’t see how he survived that crash at all! Lucky fellow, hope he has no permanent impairments because of it. I also hope he will use a little more discretion in his friendships.
I also can’t believe the hospital sent him home in that condition.
D Lester. Well said
There isn’t one hospital in this country who would release someone with bleeding on the brain, being a life threatening condition. I call some serious BS!
Check the source. It’s a St. George reporter getting the story third hand from a reported friend. I was told by his friend Eddy who visited him in the hospital the day of the accident that he seemed in good spirts and that he was only admitted to the general floor not the ICU. I heard from another accuaintence that he was joking around and flirting with the nurses. So I don’t think his condition is quite as serious as the article reports.