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DRAPER — A man who hit and killed a pedestrian while speeding on a motorcycle in a Draper neighborhood will serve time in prison.
Nicholas Broderick David Smith, 21, of Draper, was sentenced Monday to a term of zero to five years in the Utah State Prison. Smith was originally charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony. In September, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of being criminally negligent while operating a vehicle causing death, a third-degree felony.
Just before 9 p.m. on April 18, 2022, James (JD) Mair, 43, saw Smith speeding on his motorcycle in a residential area in Draper near 900 E. Rosefield Lane and walked into the street to motion to him to slow down. Smith collided with Mair, who died as a result of his injuries, according to charging documents.
Toxicology tests showed Smith had traces of THC in his system at the time of the accident. An accident reconstruction team determined Smith was going 47 mph on a 25-mph road at the time of the crash, according to charging documents.
Both neighbors and police said, at the time, that Smith has a lengthy history of speeding and reckless driving. Mair's wife, who was with him at the time of the accident, posted on social media her recollection of what happened was different from the police investigation.
"The details after are painful and very hard for me to talk about," she wrote. "JD never regained consciousness and died about six hours later at the hospital."
Smith was originally set to be sentenced in November. But his attorney, Ed Brass, found inaccuracies with the pre-sentence report filed by Adult Probation and Parole and motioned for a new report to be prepared. Prosecutors did not object and the motion was granted, according to court records.
In a supplemental sentencing memorandum filed in court, Brass notes the amended pre-sentence report prepared by Adult Probation and Parole also recommends prison time for Smith, even though it goes against the guidelines created by the state.
In his court filing, Brass criticized the report, noting it does not take into account court testimony from an officer who was part of the crash reconstruction team. The officer testified that Mair walked 13 to 16 feet from the sidewalk, into the road, and came out from behind a parked car. Because of the speed of the motorcycle, "once (Mair) stepped into the path of the motorcycle, an accident became inevitable," the memorandum states.
The court filing also says the reconstruction team found that even if Smith had been going the posted 25 mph speed limit, he still would have collided with Mair.
"Mr. Smith has accepted responsibility for the accident. He was traveling too fast, somewhere around an average of 40 mph, and he had THC in his system. However, his behavior was not the sole cause of the accident," Brass said in his court filing, while asking the judge to impose a "just sentence."
Third District Judge Paul Parker, however, went with the recommended prison sentence and Smith was immediately transferred to the state prison. A restitution hearing is scheduled for March.
