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HERRIMAN — Monday, Unified Police said it could take a couple of weeks to finish the investigation into a deadly crash in Herriman.
Cambrie Cozzens, 18, died in the crash that happened Sunday at the intersection of 5600 West and 13100 South.
“It leaves a big empty place,” said Cozzens’ mother, Vickie Cozzens, choking back tears. “It was too short.”
Vickie and Ken Cozzens had 18 memorable years with their beloved daughter.
“She was probably my best friend,” said Ken Cozzens.
He said his daughter had a bright future ahead of her. She was a student at Salt Lake Community College. Her dream was to become a psychologist, using horses to help troubled kids.
The Cozzenses said their daughter had a passion for riding horses, since she began taking lessons at age 10.
“She just had a natural ability to connect with horses,” Vickie Cozzens said.
And that connection extended to people.
The Cozzenses adopted Cambrie Cozzens as a newborn.
They said several years ago, the teen decided to reconnect with her birth mother, who lives in Tooele.
And just this past summer, Cambrie Cozzens reached out to her birth father in Riverton, bringing all the families together.
“Cambrie is just like the glue that puts everything together and makes everybody feel comfortable and accepted,” Vickie Cozzens said.
Cambrie is just like the glue that puts everything together and makes everybody feel comfortable and accepted.
–Vickie Cozzens, Cambrie's mother
Cambrie Cozzens spent her senior year of high school living with her birth mother and attending Stansbury High School.
That’s when she met her boyfriend.
“Such a great kid and was always looking out for her,” said Ken Cozzens about the teen's boyfriend.
On Sunday, the young couple had just left Cambrie Cozzens' home in Riverton and were on their way to a friend’s going-away party.
Police said a Bronco was heading west on 13100 South and crashed into the passenger side of the Saturn driven by Cozzens' boyfriend.
Witnesses told police the Saturn ran a red light. A Dodge Charger, also sitting at the light, was hit, police said.
The drivers of the Charger and the Bronco were not hurt.
Police said part of the investigation will determine if Cambrie Cozzens was wearing her seat belt.
When the investigation is done, police will give the case to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide if any charges will be filed.
Cambrie Cozzens' parents said they don’t blame anyone for their daughter’s death.
They're still making funeral arrangements for their daughter, who is an organ donor.
After the crash, they visited the teen's boyfriend, who's been released from the hospital. Cambrie Cozzens' mother left him with these words: “I’m glad to know that Cambrie’s last moments on this earth were right by you. That’s exactly where she’d want to be.”
