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SALT LAKE CITY — Disappointment. Frustration.
Those are just a couple of the reactions from members of the Utah Highway Patrol following a tragic Halloween weekend on Utah's roads.
From Friday through Sunday, UHP troopers responded to five crashes resulting in seven deaths. And those statistics do not include three fatal auto-pedestrian incidents on city streets.
In total, 10 people were killed in eight separate incidents involving motorists:
- About 6 p.m. Sunday, a woman crashed into a Utah Department of Transportation incident management truck that was stopped on I-15 in Farmington. Heather C. Timmins, 48, and Atticus Timmins, 10, both of Salt Lake City, were killed. The UHP was still investigating the cause of that crash on Tuesday.
- About 1:30 a.m. Sunday, a Kia SUV was traveling the wrong way on I-70 when it hit a truck head-on in Grand County near the Colorado border. Both vehicles burst into flames after the collision. The driver of the Kia, Jody M. Love, 43, of Ferguson, North Carolina, was killed.
- At about the same time as the Grand County crash, a Toyota Tacoma hit a pole at 1100 S Main in Brigham City. A Brigham City police officer spotted the truck on state Route 13 near 100 North and attempted to pull it over. But when he turned on his emergency lights, the truck went off the road and hit a tree. Impairment is believed to be a factor in the crash, according to the UHP, which was asked to handle the crash investigation due to a Brigham City police officer being involved. The name of the driver who later died at a hospital has not yet been released.
- Just after midnight Sunday, a Toyota pickup truck drifted into the shoulder of the I-15 off-ramp at 800 North in Orem and struck a Kia passenger car. Tobias "Toby" A, Dow, 16, of American Fork, and Season M. Dow, 43, of Tampa Bay, Florida, were both killed. Although the UHP stated that Season Dow was from Florida, a Facebook post indicates she was a third-grade teacher at Brookhaven Elementary in Eagle Mountain. Kelsey Pope, 22, of Pleasant Grove, was arrested for investigation of two counts of automobile homicide and DUI.
- Karl Finch, 13, was hit by a car while trick-or-treating on Saturday. Karl was in a crosswalk with three other boys at 2700 W. Matterhorn Drive (6380 South) about 7 p.m. Saturday when he and a friend were hit. Karl died from his injuries Monday. The other boy, 12, remained hospitalized in critical condition. The driver is cooperating with police and potential charges are pending.
- About 8 a.m. Saturday, a 66-year-old man was hit and killed in Vernal while crossing 500 W. Main Street in a crosswalk.
- Friday, a Ford Ranger crashed after overcorrecting on state Route 30 in Rich County near Laketown. The crash occurred about 5:45 p.m. The driver, Marshall B. Luther, 18, of Syracuse, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected and killed, according to UHP. His passenger, who was wearing a seat belt, survived.
- About 7 a.m. Friday, Barbara Anne Dwyer, 66, of Millcreek, was hit by a Toyota Rav4 while in a crosswalk at Highland Drive and Luck Lane (3440 South) and later died from her injuries. Police are asking for the public's help in finding the vehicle involved.
During the same time period in 2020, there was one fatality resulting from a crash, according to the highway patrol.
The number of weekend fatalities could have been worse due to several wrong-way driving incidents. Four people were arrested for driving the wrong way on Utah's freeways. In addition to the crash in Grand County, a wrong-way driver was stopped Friday on I-15 near Scipio and accused of driving while intoxicated. Those four arrests do no include a fifth incident that occurred Monday night in which a drunk driver crashed on I-215 near 6200 South, according to the UHP.
There were 167 crashes on the freeways during the Halloween weekend compared to 121 during the same time last year, according to troopers. A total of 32 drivers were stopped for going 100 mph or faster. Fifty-three people were arrested for investigation of DUI, compared to 56 last year.
Still, after all the safety messages leading up to Halloween, extra DUI shifts and even a DUI checkpoint set up on Saturday, UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said it's frustrating to see the type of weekend that Utah just experienced.
While troopers will continue their enforcement efforts as well as safety messaging, he said, "The public has to do its part and make good decisions."
Roden said to keep Utah's roads safe, drivers need to make the right decisions — namely not drinking and driving or speeding.
