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SALT LAKE CITY — One of the people involved in a Draper deadly car accident two weeks ago said she hopes the man who caused it is convicted of murder. He changed many lives that day and should be punished for that, she said.
On the evening of May 8, Kittryn Butt was on her way to work. As she approached the intersection of 12300 South and Lone Peak Parkway, she could see a white truck coming at her from the north.
“I thought, 'He’s going to stop at the red light. No, he’s not going to stop at the red light,' ” Butt said.
Her SUV and several vehicles were seriously damaged in the ensuing crash and pileup. Susan Madsen was killed, and her daughter was seriously hurt. The girl was still in the hospital as of Wednesday.
“(A) second or half a second later, you know, then he would have killed me too — easily,” Butt said.
On Monday, prosecutors officially charged Bill Thompson with murder in connection with the crash. They say his violent spree began with a fight with his roommate at their home.
A woman at his home told police Thompson had been drinking for the past couple of days.
Charging documents state that Thompson left in his truck, intentionally hit another car, then laughed as he quickly drove off. The fatal accident happened shortly after that, and prosecutors said Thompson was going twice the speed limit when he ran the red light.
“It’s not just one person he hurt, it’s a large amount of people. And to be so careless and so cold is just something that’s so overwhelming for me,” Butt said.
She suffered a slight concussion, but the emotional pain is worse, she said, especially when she thinks of Madsen.
“For a long time — a good week after the accident — I felt overwhelming guilt that it wasn’t me that got killed instead of her,” Butt said.
Butt didn't know Madsen, but said she feels some kind of connection with her.
“For that split second right before she died, our lives were kind of joined,” she said.
That's why she went to Madsen's funeral on Monday.
“(Thompson) did a real injustice to that family that will never be forgotten, and I don’t know if that can really be forgiven either,” Butt said.
She said she plans to attend some of Thompson’s court hearings and hopes he will be convicted of murder.
Thompson will make his first court appearance Friday morning.
