- Erin Bingham, killed in a crash on I-15, is remembered fondly.
- Her husband Shae praised her kindness and the support from his employer.
- Erin's funeral is set for Saturday; her son Kobe survived but was injured.
SOUTH OGDEN — Shae Bingham and his wife would've celebrated 10 years of marriage later this year, but after a crash on I-15 Sunday took her life, the widower is now trying to find the strength to go on without her.
Erin Bingham, he said, was the most amazing person he had ever met; a devoted mother with a beautiful soul and an outgoing personality.
"I always tell people she could walk into a room and, between, you know, her green eyes and her smile, like people would just be drawn to her," he explained. "She could never leave anywhere without making a friend — even the gas station or the grocery store."
The South Ogden couple was together for nearly two years before getting married in September 2016.
Erin Bingham would often refer to the two as being each other's "forever person," according to Shae Bingham.
"I know how much she loved me, and I hope she realized how much I loved her," he said.
Shae Bingham said his wife had navigated numerous struggles in her life, from addiction to dealing with the death of several family members — including her oldest son, Jaden, who was killed in a UTV crash in 2018. Despite it all, she never let her past stop her from being kind and loving.
"No matter what she lost or what was taken from her, (or) how she was hurt, it never stopped her from being her," he told KSL.
Erin Bingham and her youngest son, Kobe, were heading back home Sunday evening after looking at tires and wheels for her car, a Dodge Charger she had just received for Christmas.
"She always wanted an all-black muscle car with tinted windows and cool rims," Shae Bingham said.
He was able to purchase the vehicle with a Christmas bonus from his employer.
But the unimaginable happened as Erin Bingham was driving north on I-15 near 3300 South when a Honda Civic and her car somehow collided with one another, according to the Utah Highway Patrol
Investigators believe the crash caused her to lose control of the car and roll off the right side of the freeway.
Erin Bingham and Kobe, who was in the passenger seat, were both thrown from the car, and they both were not wearing seat belts, police said. They were taken to a hospital, where the 45-year-old mother died; her son, 23, survived the crash but suffered injuries.
"She didn't deserve what she got in this," Shae Bingham said. "Nobody had anywhere to go that was so important to cost her her life and take a person like (Erin) out of a world that needs more people like her."
Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Cameron Roden said on Wednesday that investigators are still working to determine exactly what caused the crash.
Shae Bingham said he's been in contact with investigators to gain more clarity about what happened, but with each passing day since the incident, it's been difficult coming to terms with Erin Bingham being gone.
"The more we find out about the accident, the worse it is," he said.
Shae Bingham said his stepson Kobe is out of the hospital and working to heal from his injuries, but he'll likely have a long road to recovery ahead — both physically and mentally.
"He's going to need some surgeries. And the mental side, who knows? It's impossible not to be damaged by what he saw," Shae Bingham said.
As the grieving husband has been grappling with the loss of his beloved wife, he was also trying to gather up enough money to pay for her funeral. But then relief came when his employer, Lewis Homes Inc., where he works as an excavation manager, and a subcontractor, LC Quality, offered to cover the costs for the entire service.
"We were trying to raise funds, and before we could even do anything, they had stepped up and taken care of her. It's, to me, one of the biggest testaments on who she was and how people felt about her," he said.
Erin Bingham's family and loved ones will pay their final respects to her this weekend, with funeral services set for Saturday. But for Shae Bingham, the pain of losing his wife will take much more time to overcome.
"Her presence made their house a home. Without her, Shae's heart and room feel unbearably empty," an excerpt from the obituary reads.
