Burnout session with 20-30 trucks causes $18K in damages to St. George parking lot

ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — A weekend of truck festivities spiraled into chaos across Washington County, as unauthorized gatherings led to thousands of dollars in damages, traffic disruption, and multiple arrests.

Prior to and following the Southwest Truckfest, informal meetups spilled into commercial parking lots on the evenings of Friday April 11 and Saturday April 12.

According to Washington City Police Officer, Lt. Kory Klotz, one of these meetups drew between 150 and 200 trucks into the Best Buy parking lot near Green Springs Drive on Friday evening.

He said about 20 to 30 trucks were doing donuts and burnouts while a large crowd watched. This lasted for about 40 minutes until the police arrived.

Klotz said that the damage done to the asphalt and a speed bump totaled $18,000. Between four and five people were arrested. He said these will be felony charges, due to the total cost of the damage.

Klotz noted that the event was driven by a small group of participants who were actually engaging in the reckless driving. But an unauthorized crowd can lead to a dangerous scenario for bystanders and law enforcement.

"The worry is that the crowd can turn hostile quickly," Klotz said.

He said there was one accident between a truck and another vehicle, but no injuries were reported.

In St. George the following day, police responded to a similar event at the Smith's parking lot in SunRiver.

St. George Police Public Information Officer Tiffany Mitchell said about 100 trucks were involved, many believed to be from out of state.

"They scared a lot of people," Mitchell said. "They could have really hurt people. It was really dangerous and irresponsible."

Officers issued citations and impounded several vehicles for reckless driving and driving without registration or insurance. She could not give an exact number of arrests, but said it included "a handful," estimating around five.

Mitchell described the situation as chaotic, with trucks blocking fuel pumps and preventing other cars from leaving the parking lot.

She said they dispatched as many offices as they could.

"One of our sergeants said he was genuinely terrified for the safety of his officers and the public," she said. "That tells you how serious that was."

Mitchell said that they are still working to assess the total cost of the damage.

She said that there is no further risk to the public and is hopeful that this doesn't happen again.

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