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PROVO — A Pleasant Grove woman could spend up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to crashing into a car stopped on the side of the road, killing a woman and her son.
Kesley Pope, 23, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of automobile homicide, a third-degree felony. The crash occurred in the early morning on Halloween of 2021.
She was sentenced by 4th District Judge Kraig Powell on Monday to two consecutive terms of zero to five years in prison. She was also ordered to pay a fine of over $5,000.
Season M. Dow, 43, a third-grade teacher at Brookhaven Elementary, and Tobias "Toby" Dow, 16, of American Fork were both killed in the crash. They had pulled onto the shoulder of I-15 near the 800 North off-ramp in Orem. Their Kia had its emergency hazard lights on, according to charging documents.
"Season was a amazing mom, friend and confidant. Despite her trials and struggles she was always very thoughtful of others and thinking positively. She was a great example of persistence and working for what you wanted. She had an amazing relationship with her children and they were her best friends," according to a GoFundMe* account set up by a co-worker on behalf of the family.
It said that Season Dow passed away at the site of the accident, and Toby Dow was critically injured and died the next day after multiple surgeries.
Pope said in a letter that she read at the sentencing that she hopes the family of the victims and the judge feel her compassion and remorse.
"I thought I waited long enough and ate enough. I thought my judgment was good enough to drive. I never thought something like this could happen to me. I never wanted to hurt anyone," she said.
She said she tried to help after the accident, called 911 and followed directions from the operator. She said she wants the family to know she thinks of them daily, and prays that their family is healing.
"I strongly feel that they are watching over your family and doing amazing things," Pope said.
Pope apologized for the loss she caused and for putting the community at risk. She promised the family that she will never forget what she has learned, or about their family.
"I plan to speak up and influence. I will bring more awareness to drinking and driving. I plan to make a positive change, and just know I've already started during my time here," Pope said.
Many of Pope's friends and family wrote letters to the court saying that she is kind and willing to help.
Scott Williams, Pope's attorney said "she's a good kid" who made a terrible mistake.
"I don't believe that any extra prison time is going to do, really, anybody any good. ... I think Kesley (Pope) has learned from this, I think she's devastated, she's going to have to live with it," Williams said. "There's been so much loss already, on all sides."
As part of the plea deal entered by Pope, a charge for witness tampering was dropped and the remaining two charges were reduced from second-degree felonies to third-degree felonies.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
