Utah teen hospitalized after being hit by car

Hurricane, Utah — A Hurricane teen is hospitalized in a St. George hospital after police say a drunk driver hit her and her friend Tuesday morning.

“It’s just crazy it happened around Thanksgiving because all I can feel is just grateful,” said Leah Meacham. “It takes on a whole new meaning for us. We will get through this and just look at the positives because there are so many and so much to be grateful for.”

A 15-year-old Avery Meacham and her friend were crossing a crosswalk at 300 West and State Street Tuesday around 10 a.m. The girls were on their way to grab a snack in-between classes when a man under the influence hit them with his truck.

“It was like he didn’t even notice that he hit them because he would’ve just knocked her over, but he kept going,” said Anthony Williams, who witnessed it all. “I watched her get pulled under the tire and that was just… I’ve never seen nothing like that.”

According to Meacham, Avery’s friend broke her arm but is otherwise doing OK. As for Avery, Meacham said she was run over and that her pelvis is crushed. Doctors performed surgery Wednesday morning.

“She’ll have some pins and some plates and things forever,” said Meacham. “She loves dance, cheer and tumbling and all those things that we hope she can get back to.”

According to police, records show, 52-year-old David Chad Garner is charged with two counts of DUI, refusal to submit a blood test, driving on a suspended or revoked license, failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and illegal window tinting.

Both Meacham and Williams said that the intersection has seen a lot of close calls and crashes.

“A lot of the other business owners right there on that corner, they came out and said the same thing,” said Williams. “They said there’s always accidents. There’s always people slamming on their brakes, almost hitting kids.”