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LAYTON — A Layton man is dead after apparently being caught in a carport collapse Monday morning.
The Layton City Fire Department responded to a call Monday at 9:16 a.m. and found a carport collapsed at 1628 E. 2050 North. John Eaves, 50, had been caught in the wreckage and died at the scene.
"We had a son and a daughter very frantic and very upset; the gentleman was underneath the wreckage," said Scott Maughan, a battalion chief with the Layton City Fire Department. "We had to use some cinder blocks that were there and some of our equipment to extract the body."
The cause of the accident appeared to be snow and ice buildup on a carport that was attached to the rambler-style home. Investigators believe John Eaves had gone out to the carport to try and brace it with something when the accident happened.
We believe the weight of the snow and the ice ... caused the collapse.
–Scott Maughan, Layton City Fire Dept.
"There was quite a significant amount of snow and ice buildup on the roof of the house where the carport attached to it," Maughan said. "We believe the weight of the snow and the ice as it's been warming up — it melts and then freezes, then melts and then freezes — caused the collapse."
John Eaves' 17-year-old daughter heard the commotion and came running to find her father under the rubble. His son, Brad Eaves, wasn't at home when the accident happened and had to hear the bad news from his mother.
"(I) just kind of pulled around the the corner, and I just kind of knew, you know?" Brad Eaves said. "I went inside, and my mom just told me, and it's the hardest thing I've ever had to experience."
Neighbors were also saddened to hear the news, saying John Eaves is a man who will be missed tremendously.
"He's inspiring. He's an example of how every family should be, and how you want your family to be," said Travis Copier, who lives near the Eaveses.
John Eeaves' wife, Denise, said the family had just celebrated John's 50th birthday. Now that their kids were growing up, she said the two had been looking at buying a new house.
Maughan said he believed the accident was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that he would not advocate for people to climb on their roof and remove the snow, "but that's up to their own discretion."
Due to the sunlight and warmer temperatures over the weekend and the position of the house, the accident was a unique circumstance and unfortunate for the family, he said.
"Now the family is going to be dealing with the loss of their father, and then having to clean up the mess on the side of the house, and do it in a safe manner because it's still half attached," he said. ---
