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There was a tragic end to a re-enactment of a pioneer trek in central Utah this morning. A 14-year-old girl was killed, as was a man well known in Emery County for keeping the pioneer spirit alive.
The tragedy struck this morning near the community of Fairview. A teenage girl from Tropic, Utah was killed, along with the founder of the Castle Valley Pageant, which just wrapped up its season Saturday night.
Twelve people had just set out for what was suppose to be a week-long pioneer-era trek. They started in Fairview and planned to arrive in Castle Dale on Saturday. But after less than a mile, tragedy struck along the highway.
Montell Seely shared his passion for the Mormon pioneers with KSL's John Hollenhorst last year. Not only was he the founder of the Castle Valley Pageant, the 74-year-old was well experienced in pioneer treks. This morning, Seely was leading a group of three families on a weeklong re-enactment to Castle Valley.
His daughter, LeAnne Seely, said, "It was to commemorate the fact that this group of pioneers came from Sanpete Valley in the 1870's and settled all the towns and communities over in Emery County."
Just 10 minutes after leaving their camp, a pickup truck struck them from behind. Trooper Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol said, "The 13-year-old female was behind the handcart walking and was struck by the vehicle. The vehicle then veered to the left where it struck a 74-year-old male who saw the vehicle coming and was trying to flag down the driver, to get his attention to stop, when he was struck and killed as well. Both died on scene."
The driver of a pickup truck, which was also headed up the canyon, was blinded by the sun and crashed into the back of the handcart.
Fourteen-year-old Hannah Wagstaff of Tropic was pushing the handcart and was killed. LeAnne said, "She seemed to be very talented and a nice young lady. She played the violin, she and her sister played some numbers for us at our campfire program the night before."
Four other people received injuries and were taken to Sanpete Valley Hospital. Two have been released, while two children remain hospitalized. Seely's 7-year-old grandson was flown to Primary Children's in stable condition with a fractured hip, and a girl is at Sanpete Valley Hospital in fair condition.
Two horses pulling a covered wagon just ahead of the handcart were startled and ran away, dragging the wagon with them. Daniel Penrod, from Wing Ranch, heard the commotion and went to help. He said, "They were out of control, and I thought I should get them stopped before anything else happened. And I didn't know if I could stop them, but luckily I was able to."
Seely's family is mourning for the girl who was killed, while remembering their father's love of the pioneers, finding comfort that his life ended while on a handcart trek. "We miss him and it will be really hard to get use to not having him around, but it was the way he would have wanted to go, participating in a trek to honor his ancestors," LeAnne said.
The driver of the truck was not hurt. Prosecutors will review the accident investigation before determining if any charges will be filed against him.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
