911 call of fatal accident shows terrible tragedy

911 call of fatal accident shows terrible tragedy


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FRUIT HEIGHTS -- A heart-wrenching audio recording of a 911 call reveals the details of a tragic accident that happened in Fruit Heights Nov. 18.

The driver who called 911 after hitting a couple from Kaysville told Davis County dispatchers he didn't see them until it was too late.

"The car was parked on the side of the road, and they were putting stuff in the car from the side, and I saw them last minute," he said during that Nov. 18 call.

"I just hit two people and they're down. They were in the middle of the road," he says.

It was snowing when the crash happened around 7 p.m.

"They're standing in the middle of the road with their car. I didn't see them," the caller said.

Moments after the crash, people had gathered at the scene to help in any way they could. The 911 dispatcher talked the driver emergency first aid for the people now lying injured in the road. Another man would later take over the call as the driver broke down, overcome by the terrible situation.

The scene after the accident, showing the snowy, difficult conditions in which the couple and the 911 caller were driving.
The scene after the accident, showing the snowy, difficult conditions in which the couple and the 911 caller were driving.

The injured couple was Mark and Stacey Seegmiller, both in their 40s. The caller could see that Mark was badly hurt.

"He's bleeding from the head," he said. "I need two ambulances."

Relatives said the Seegmillers were on their way home to Kaysville when they pulled over to adjust the Christmas decorations in the bed of their truck. The caller hit them from behind. He later told authorities, he was blinded by the snow and the headlights from an oncoming car.

"One of them is breathing. The other one, I don't know," he says.

"Ok, I need you to check and see if the other one is breathing," the dispatcher said. "The one that's choking, I need you to turn them on their side."

The caller asks the dispatcher to call his wife. When the dispatcher asks if the Seegmillers are still breathing, the man completely breaks down.

Soon after, another man on the scene took over the call with 911.

"The gentleman you were talking to who called - I took the phone from him. He is struggling," another man says. He tells the dispatcher that Mark Seegmiller is having a hard time breathing. The dispatcher talks him through first aid until the police and paramedics arrive.

"You're going to put one hand on his forehead and the other one on his neck. You're going to tilt his head back, ok?" The dispatcher said. "Did you get him on his back?"

The man on the phone said, "We haven't, ma'am. We're just afraid to."

The dispatcher tells them to get Mark on his back in order to open up his airway. When help arrives, the man who hit the couple got back on the phone, distraught and inconsolable.

"Why did this haven to happen," the man said. "Ok. Take a deep breath," the dispatcher told him. "You didn't see it, alright? It could have happened to anybody."

"It doesn't matter," the man said.

Mark Seegmiller died on the way to the hospital. His wife, Stacey, who suffered extensive injuries, is expected to recover.

The couple has four children.

Email: [syi@ksl.com](<mailto: syi@ksl.com>)

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Sandra Yi

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