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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — A man who police say killed two people in a road rage-related crash in Eagle Mountain was charged Tuesday with manslaughter.
Peterson Drew Matheson, 30, was driving a Ford F-150 on June 4 when he crashed into a Porsche, killing passengers Rodney Michael Salm, 48, and Michaela Himmelberger, 47, according to the Utah County Sheriff's Office.
Matheson, who was transported after the crash to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray with injuries described as not life-threatening, turned himself in on June 7 to the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork "after deputies had been in contact with his family advising them we intended to take him into custody," a police booking affidavit said.
Matheson was charged Tuesday with two counts of manslaughter, a second-degree felony; as well as reckless driving, following a vehicle too closely and failure to stay in one lane. A virtual hearing in the 4th District Court is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m.
The crash occurred on state Route 73 near Eagle Mountain Boulevard about 12:30 p.m. on June 4. A road-rage incident involving Matheson and the driver of a Nissan Maxima led up to the accident, Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said.
The driver of the Maxima told authorities that the Ford pickup truck pulled onto a road in front of him, and the two engaged on multiple roadways, Cannon added. The driver of the Maxima said the F-150 was "close behind him" before it moved into the eastbound emergency lane next to the Maxima, Cannon said.
"The driver of the F-150 then rammed the Maxima from the side. The driver of the Maxima then began to stop," Cannon said. "At this point, it appears the driver of the F-150 lost control, crossed the center line, and crashed head-on into a 1987 Porsche 911 that was driving west."
Salm, who was driving the Porsche, and Himmelberger, who was sitting in the passenger seat, were killed on impact. The two were out for a cruise with other members of a local Porsche club.
"Matheson operated his vehicle in a willful disregard for the safety of others," the police booking affidavit said. "Ultimately this reckless driving resulted in a collision with the Nissan Maxima and then the Porsche, with both the adult male and adult female occupants in the Porsche being killed as a result of the collision."
