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SALT LAKE CITY — A man convicted of killing a woman while driving drunk and distracted because he apparently wanted to take a picture of the sunset has been sentenced to prison.
Carter Tyler Davern Foulger, 31, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty in December to automobile homicide, a third-degree felony; and two counts of DUI, a third-degree felony.
On Monday, 3rd District Judge Royal Hansen sentenced Foulger to up to five years at the Utah State Prison for each count. However, he ordered that the sentence for automobile homicide run consecutive to the DUI convictions, meaning he won't begin serving time for that sentence until the other is completed. The judge also recommended alcohol and mental health treatment, according to court records.
On May 30, 2016, a Volkswagen Golf carrying three people stopped in the median of Wasatch Boulevard near 6800 South, and the driver was waiting for traffic to clear in order to pull off to the side of the road and take pictures of the sunset.
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One person died and two others were injured in a traffic accident late Monday night. One driver was taken into custody for investigation of DUI.Foulger, who admitted to drinking "several pints of beer and a couple of shots of whiskey" that evening, was driving on Wasatch Boulevard when he "reached over in his vehicle to retrieve his camera," according to charging documents.
As he tried to get the camera, his Ford Explorer drifted into the median, striking the stationary Volkswagon Golf from behind.
Investigators say Foulger was going more than 50 mph and did not brake before smashing into the other vehicle.
Janet Ethredge, 59, who was in the rear passenger seat, was pronounced dead at the scene. Walter Beaudreau, who was in the front passenger seat, suffered an aneurysm, multiple rib fractures and spinal fractures. Gerald Parker, the driver, suffered a "mild traumatic brain injury," a broken rib and several fractures, according to court records.
