Man arrested after accident caused by anger at the wheel

Hurricane, Washington County — A man was arrested Sunday in connection with a rollover crash that ejected an 18-year-old woman from her car in the Zion National Park area. Police said he caused the crash in a fit of rage.

Usitai Gordon Tuiloli, 22, was arrested on suspicion of failing to arrive at the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury, reckless endangerment and reckless driving resulting in road rage, a Class A misdemeanor.

According to court documents, the crash involved a pickup truck that skidded on Utah Highway 9 near the Zion National Park rest area. When officers arrived, they found the woman who had been thrown from the vehicle and a man who was also in the vehicle. At least one other driver involved was at the scene and told officers the crash was caused by a person in a pickup truck who drove away after yelling profanities at the vehicle's occupants.

“Many minutes later, the suspect, identified as Usitai Tuiloli, returned to the scene of the accident,” court documents state. “He walked to the intersection of 2260 West and State Street before turning around at the direction of his wife.”

Several witnesses at the scene reported to the police that Tuiloli had driven close to them before the accident and cut them off.

“A driver stated that they became involved in a verbal altercation while stopped at the traffic light at the corner of 3400 West and State Street,” the documents state.

Another driver told them that Tuiloli had suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing them to swerve and hit the truck, causing it to overturn.

After returning to the scene of the crash, Tuiloli told officers that another driver gave him the middle finger and yelled at him. He said he observed a truck “driving recklessly,” but court documents did not indicate if the truck he was talking about was the same one that crashed. He said they stopped at a red light, but he told officers the other driver started yelling at him.

Tuiloli said he then pursued the truck and began following it “to find out why the driver was behaving that way.” He passed the truck and saw an SUV ahead of him, so he quickly changed lanes again and got very close to the truck.

Tuiloli told police the truck tried to pass him but collided with another truck and rolled in front of him. Ultimately, police said Tuiloli was at fault based on the evidence collected and testimony from the other drivers.

“The accident was caused by Usitai's willful or wanton disregard for the safety of any person by failing to care for the other vehicles around him,” court documents state. In addition, Tuiloli acted “with the intent to endanger or intimidate any person in another vehicle.”