Unlicensed Layton man with vision problem pleads guilty to running over toddler

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OGDEN — A Layton man who police said was unlicensed and medically unfit to drive when he ran over and killed a toddler pleaded guilty to manslaughter Thursday.

Aaron Joe Burlison, 26, pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, in the death of 18-month-old Lexie Smith last summer. A misdemeanor drug possession charge was dismissed as part of a plea deal.

An affidavit filed with Burlison's arrest warrant last year said he "has a number of medical conditions that make it unsafe for him to operate a motor vehicle," including a left eye that is closed due to an unsuccessful cornea transplant.

Burlison also has glaucoma in both eyes, harming his vision, and neuropathy causing weakness in his legs and feet, the affidavit states.

Burlison was driving a truck in the parking lot of the Falls at Canyon Rim apartments, 6045 S. Ridgeline Drive, on July 27, 2015. Burlison hit the girl with the truck's bumper as he pulled into a handicapped-accessible parking stall, then "continued to drive and ran over (Lexie)," according to the charges.

Burlison told police he had seen the girl standing about 15 feet away, but surveillance footage showed Lexi standing in the middle of the parking lot, illuminated by the truck's headlights, charges state. He also told police he did not have a license and should not have been behind the wheel.

A blood draw showed Burlison also had THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his system while he was driving. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 30.