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Team coveragePolice are calling it a case of road rage between the man on the motorcycle and the driver of another car. Now, a Centerville dad is in critical condition at the University of Utah Medical Center.
Ten-year-old Jeffrey Rakes thought he was going to have a nice ride home from tae kwon do with his parents. "They picked me up with their motorcycles, and my dad had his helmet on, and he gave it to me," he said. It was a move that probably saved Jeffrey's life.
Just before 9 o'clock Thursday night, Centerville police responded to the crash near 400 East and 100 North.
Officers say just before the collision, 50-year-old Michael Rakes got into an altercation with 32-year-old Kris Prinster who threw a cigarette out her car window. Michael became upset and pulled alongside Prinster's car to yell at her. "The one girl in front of us threw a cigarette back, and my dad went up to tell her he didn't appreciate it," Jeffrey said.
Lt. Paul Child, with the Centerville Police Department, said, "This woman started to speed up in an attempt to move ahead of him, and he sped up alongside of her and continued having some sort of a confrontation as they were traveling northbound."
Jeffrey said, "So then she swerved and hit him, then we went flying."
Rakes lost control of the bike, and he and Jeffrey were thrown. Officers still don't know if the vehicles collided before or after Rakes lost control.
Jeffrey recalls what happened after he flew off. He said, "Well, I went over to my dad because he was just laying on the ground, and I wanted him to wake up and stuff, but he didn't."
His father was flown to the University of Utah hospital. Jeffrey was taken to Lakeview Hospital with a chipped ankle bone, road rash and a cracked rib.
Jeffrey said, "It's kind of weird because it doesn't feel like it's happening, and I never thought it would happen."
But despite his dad's condition, Jeffrey isn't blaming Prinster. "Yeah, my dad shouldn't have went up to the side of her car, though. If he didn't, none of this would have happened. So I don't know," he said.
Rakes is being treated in the ICU for severe head trauma. He's been in a drug-induced coma, but his wife says when he wakes up he makes hand signals. She also tells us he's also having heart trouble.
Prinster wasn't injured in the crash. Jeffrey's mother was also on a motorcycle and witnessed the crash.
Possible reckless driving charges are being screened with the attorney's office. Police wouldn't say who they thought was at fault.
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