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SALT LAKE CITY — Idaho State Police now confirm what the family of a USU student feared, that distracted driving was a contributing factor in a crash that took her life last month.
Taylor Sauer,18, from Caldwell, Idaho, was returning home after dropping a friend off at the Utah State campus in Logan. About 13 miles away from Mountain Home, Idaho, Sauer drove into the back of a semi on I-84. Another semi then hit her car. She died from her injuries.
Investigators say in the final minutes of her life, Sauer was chatting on Facebook. She had posted on her wall, "I can't discuss this matter now. Driving and Facebooking is not safe."
Police also say Sauer was texting "extensively" throughout the route she was traveling.
Last month her uncle, Brad Warr, told KSL the family suspected texting or Facebooking played a role.
"Taylor had done that in the past and we know as a family that probably or may have contributed to the accident," he said at the time.
Her family hoped that by speaking publicly about it, they'd raise awareness of the problem. Warr said the family feels very strongly about providing a cautionary message.
"Those mistakes by young drivers are something that can cost you dearly, like they have Taylor," Warr said.
Idaho State Police also now say that Sauer was speeding at the time of her crash. They determined she was traveling 88 miles an hour before she smashed into the back of the slower-moving semi.
Though these findings appear to answer the biggest unanswered question about the crash, state police in Idaho say their investigation is ongoing.
