Cedar City teen hit by SUV while driving dirt bike after dark

CEDAR CITY — A teenage boy was critically injured after being hit by a sport-utility vehicle Monday while riding a dirt bike down a residential road in Cedar City in the dark.

Iron County Sheriff's Sgt. Jody Edwards said the boy was taken to a Las Vegas hospital by medical helicopter. He was not wearing a helmet and suffered a compound fracture and significant head injuries, Edwards said. The accident occurred after 7 p.m.

Family members were following the boy in a car as he was riding on Panorama Drive in the Cross Hollows Hills subdivision of Iron County. The driver of the car was using the vehicle's headlights to illuminate the road for the unlit dirt bike, Edwards said.

An SUV pulling out of a driveway saw the headlights of the slowly approaching car but did not see the dirt bike. The SUV hit teenager, and throwing him from motorbike.

The dirt bike is considered "street legal" because it did not have a lighting kit, Edwards said. The boy's age was unavailable Monday night.

— McKenzie Romero Twitter: @McKenzieRomero