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KEARNS — A woman accused of causing a wrong-way crash that left a young girl in life-threatening condition — all while allegedly driving impaired and excessively speeding — has been booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
Charmayne Heurta Guzman, 25, of Kearns, was arrested Wednesday and charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with two counts of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious injury, a third-degree felony; two counts of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in injury and DUI, class A misdemeanors; reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor; driving on a denied license, a class C misdemeanor; and four infractions including speeding and unlawful passing.
On Sunday, about 1 p.m., Unified police say Guzman was driving an estimated 77 mph in a 35-mph zone near 4800 West and 5200 South on a wet road when "she attempted to pass a vehicle in a no passing area, and on a blind corner," according to a police booking affidavit.
Guzman, however, who was driving with a "donut" spare tire on the front right passenger side, lost control of her vehicle and her Kia Sorento hit an oncoming Volkswagen Jetta nearly head-on, court documents state. A 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy in the Volkswagen were taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. The affidavit says the girl was transported with "potentially life-ending injuries."
Charging documents say the girl "suffered a brain bleed, traumatic brain injury, a fractured skull near the base where the spine connects to the skull, a partial tear to the spinal cord," cuts and bruises, and it was unknown if she "will survive her injuries or the degree of paralysis her injuries will cause."
As of Thursday, the girl was in critical condition and police say the family was "optimistic." The boy has since been treated and released.
When police questioned Guzman and asked how much she had to drink, she replied, "Too much," according to the affidavit. Charging documents further state that Guzman allegedly told investigators "we were drinking and headed home."
In addition to locating open containers of alcohol inside her car, officers also found alcohol in some nearby bushes, where a male passenger "was observed taking them out of the vehicle and hiding them in bushes behind a nearby church," the affidavit states.
Court records show Guzman was charged five times in 2023 with driving on a denied or invalid license. She was also charged in one case with driving 78 mph in a 55-mph zone; going 101 mph in an 80-mph zone in a second case; and driving 93 mph in a 70-mph zone in a third incident in 2023, according to court records.
