St. George woman who crashed with three juveniles in vehicle was on fentanyl, charges say

WASHINGTON CITY, Utah (ABC4) — A St. George woman has been arrested and charged with allegedly driving under the influence and causing a crash with three juveniles in the vehicle.

Megan Deann Harding, 37, has been charged with negligently operating a vehicle with serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony; negligently operating a vehicle resulting in injury, a Class A misdemeanor; three counts of driving under the influence with a passenger under 16, a Class A misdemeanor; and an infraction for not obeying right of way.

According to documents, on May 7, 2025, a Washington City Police officer was dispatched to a vehicle crash with injuries. When the officer arrived, he found a flatbed work truck hauling a trailer with a mini excavator; the trailer was tipped over and on its side. Another vehicle was involved, a silver Audi SUV with airbags deployed and “significant damage.”

Witnesses stated that they saw the crash and that the Audi did not stop at the intersection. This intersection had two stop signs going north and south, while east and west traffic did not have a stop sign. The Audi was travelling south and did not stop at the sign.

Following the crash, witnesses and bystanders ran to the vehicle and helped the driver out of the vehicle and stayed with her until medical services arrived. Three 12-year-old juveniles were in the Audi at the time of the crash. Two of them had to be transported by ambulance to the hospital.

The driver of the Audi was identified as Harding. At the scene, a mother of one of the juveniles told police that she believed Harding was under the influence of fentanyl and was a known drug user.

The police officer made contact with Harding and allegedly observed that she was “nodding off” and “seemed dazed.” Harding explained to the officer that she thought the intersection was a four-way stop, but had not stopped.

A search warrant was obtained for Harding’s blood to perform a drug test. On June 30, the results from the test allegedly revealed that Harding had amphetamine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and norfentanyl in her blood.

One of the two 12-year-olds who were transported to the hospital required a laparoscopic surgery. When Harding crashed, the seatbelt the 12-year-old was wearing pressed on their waist and caused damage to an organ. The other 12-year-old only suffered bruising and soreness and was released from the hospital.

Harding was arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail and is currently being held on bail.