Man found dead in Iron County after he reportedly called son and said he crashed

Iron County Sheriff's Office vehicle near Cedar City, Utah, Sept,. 15, 2020 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — A man in his 80s was found dead alongside a road in the town of Beryl in western Iron County on Wednesday morning, after apparently crashing his vehicle the night before.

Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Humphries told Cedar City News that dispatchers were notified about the crash by the man’s son at approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday.

The son, who lives out of state, had called dispatchers and told them his father had called him and told him he’d crashed along state Route 56, Humphries said.

“Troopers went out looking for him, from Nevada all the way to Cedar City, and in Nevada from Pioche to the Utah border,” Humphries said. “Nobody found an accident. Then, this morning at 10:26, we got a call from somebody who came across it out there on the Beryl Highway.”

The location of the crash ended up being at the northern end of the Beryl Highway, approximately 13 miles north of where that unpaved road meets SR-56 at Beryl Junction.

Humphries said it appears the man, who was driving a minivan, went straight at the “Y” at the end of the road instead of going either left or right, and crashed into a fence or signpost. 

“It looked like he was able to move the vehicle a little bit,” Humphries added, noting that the man then apparently got out of the van and walked a short distance to the south.

The man’s body was found alongside the road about a quarter-mile from the vehicle, Humphries said.

Map with red pin showing location of a fatal single-vehicle crash in Beryl, Utah, Dec. 21-22, 2022 | Image courtesy of Google Maps, St. George News / Cedar City News

“We believe he possibly had some internal injuries as a result of the crash, because he didn’t appear to have a seat belt on at the time,” Humphries said, adding that the final determination as to the cause of death and any contributing factors will be made by the medical examiner’s office.

After family notifications had been made, the Iron County Sheriff’s Office identified the deceased driver on Wednesday evening as Albert Jay Christensen, 84.

Also responding to the incident were Utah Highway Patrol troopers and an officer with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management who happened to be in the area.

Humphries said it was unfortunate that the driver hadn’t also called 911 in addition to calling his son. Had he done so, he said, it’s likely he would have been located several hours earlier. 

“If he had called 911, we would have known exactly where he was, because we have reverse 911 in Iron County,” Humphries said.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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