Yuma County crash sends UTV driver to hospital with serious injuries

A Yuma County crash at E. South Frontage Road and S. Payson Drive sent a 2007 Yamaha Rhino UTV driver to the hospital with serious injuries after investigators said the vehicle failed to yield while turning left.

The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded at about 11:32 a.m. Monday, April 13, 2026, to the two-vehicle collision in Yuma County, Arizona. Investigators said a 1990 Toyota Corolla was traveling eastbound on E. South Frontage Road when it collided with the westbound UTV as the driver tried to turn left onto S. Payson Drive.

Rural Metro personnel treated the injured UTV driver at the scene and transported the driver to Onvida Health. The sheriff’s office said the driver was in stable condition. The Corolla driver was not injured.

Authorities said it was still unknown whether impairment played any role in the crash, and the case remained under investigation. Tania Pavlak of the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office said the agency was seeking information from anyone who may have seen the collision or knew more about what happened.

The sheriff’s office said tips can be called in at 928-783-4427 or submitted anonymously through 78-CRIME or the agency’s online tip form. The public can remain anonymous when providing information.

The crash added another serious injury case to a stretch of roadway where eastbound and westbound traffic meets turning vehicles, work traffic and other local drivers moving through the area. For serious crashes in Yuma County, patients are often taken to Onvida Health’s main campus, where the emergency department is designated by the State of Arizona as a Level III trauma center. Onvida Health, formerly Yuma Regional Medical Center, adopted its new name in October 2024.

The collision was listed in the sheriff’s office April 13 press-release log, marking it as an active same-day investigation while deputies continued to sort out how the turn at S. Payson Drive unfolded.