Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Peterson Drew Matheson expressed remorse during a parole hearing for a 2023 crash.
- The crash, involving road rage, killed Michaela Himmleberger and Rodney Salm.
- Matheson pleaded guilty to manslaughter and faces parole eligibility or full sentence until 2033.
SALT LAKE CITY — A senseless tragedy caused by a driver making horrible choices.
That was the overall message during a parole hearing this week for a man who crashed head-on into another vehicle in Eagle Mountain in 2023 during a road rage confrontation with a third vehicle, resulting in the deaths of two innocent people.
"I would do anything to go back to that day and just brake, slow down, turn around, go home, go hug my kids, go hug my wife at the time. I would do anything to go back and do that. I had a horrible, horrible reaction to the situation," Peterson Drew Matheson told the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole on Tuesday.
On June 4, 2023, Michaela "Misha" Himmleberger, 47, and her boyfriend, Rodney Salm, 48, were driving in a Porsche 911 Carrera on state Route 73 in Eagle Mountain when they were slammed into by a Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by Matheson. Matheson says he was cut off by a Nissan Maxima and responded by speeding up and trying to pass the Maxima by driving on the shoulder. That's when the Maxima made contact with the F-150, causing Matheson to lose control, go into oncoming traffic and hit the Porsche head-on.
"Twenty minutes prior to this ride in the ambulance, my life was normal. (And now) There's two deceased people, (and) I'm involved in a horrible accident. Like, 'What is going on?' So I just sat in the ambulance and cried," an emotional Matheson, now 32, told the board on Tuesday.
The driver of the Maxima, Michael Alan Landen, is charged in 4th District Court with two counts of manslaughter. His case remained ongoing as of Thursday.
Matheson pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of zero to five years in the Utah State Prison. Based on the state's nonbinding sentencing guidelines and the time Matheson has served both in prison and the Utah County Jail following his arrest, he is eligible for parole now. If he serves his full sentence, he will be released in 2033.
Matheson says on the day of the crash, he thought he had reacted the best way he could to the other driver. Today, he says he realizes it was the worst reaction possible.
"I was doing everything in my power to get away from him. And at the time of the accident, I thought I did the very best I could just to keep my truck straight and get away," he said.
But after recounting what had happened, board member Brett Varoz noted to Matheson that what he didn't talk about were the choices he made that day, regardless of what the other driver was doing.
"They were horrible choices," Matheson agreed.
"If you would have stopped, what would have happened?" Varoz pressed.
"We would have all gone our way and not had one issue," Matheson responded.
"It was senseless that day, what happened," Varoz said.
"I could have done a million times better that day. I should have done a million times better that day," Matheson said.
When asked why he chose to pass Landen after being cut off rather than drive behind him or simply pull over and stop, Matheson claimed his actions that day were motivated by "true fear."
"I've never been in an experience like that ever," he said.
Varoz, however, retorted, "To be honest with you, I struggle with that. ... Fear is you stop and call 911. If you're in fear, you remove yourself from the situation and not engage."
The hearing was attended by family members of Matheson, Himmleberger and Salm, and Varoz noted that the board had received many letters both in support of Matheson and those who are against him being paroled.
Family members of the victims say they only agreed to a plea deal and lesser charges in 2023 to expedite the legal proceedings, and after being assured that Matheson would serve his full time.
Michelle Salm, Rodney's sister, urged the board to make Matheson serve his full time as she recalled how close she and her brother were.
"How to go on living my life when the one and only person who understood me is gone? His loss is my greatest tragedy to date. The excruciating pain of not having him here is overwhelming still. And the way in which he passed is so senseless," she said.
Himmleberger's twin sister, Terry Dial, told the board that losing her sister has been a "horrific life-crushing event." Dial says Matheson could have managed his own actions and stopped rather than be upset from being cut off and letting his anger and aggression get the best of him.
"Where is the outrage at this person they thought so highly of, this good person behaving with such a wanton disregard for the people around him that two people are dead?" she questioned regarding the letters of support for Matheson submitted to the board. "This crash was completely avoidable. Misha and Rodney do not need to be dead.
"There is not a word that defines the depths of missing my twin sister or the excruciating pain that radiates from within it," she continued. "They had so much more left to do and left to give."
When asked if he wanted to respond, Matheson apologized to the family, saying he was heartbroken for them as he had learned more about his victims since being incarcerated.
"I will forever be sorry and do whatever I can to make amends," he said.
He also believes he has been mischaracterized as an angry person or an angry driver.
"I'm not an angry person. And I'm sorry that it's come across that I'm an angry person."
But Matheson admitted that since being in prison and participating in treatment classes, he has learned more about accountability, as well as the ripple effect the tragedy has had. He called his victim impact class "a big eye opener," and he has a better understanding that his actions not only affected himself and his victims, but also an entire community.
The full five-member board will now vote on whether to grant parole or set a new hearing date.
