Florida woman who hit Utah group headed to Lake Powell head-on, killing 1, is charged

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KANAB — A woman who investigators say attempted to pass a semitruck in a no-passing zone in southern Utah and caused a head-on crash, killing a woman who was on her way to Lake Powell with her friends, has been charged.

Nthenya Maingi Patrick, 37, of Miami Beach, Florida, was charged Wednesday in Kane County's 6th District Court with manslaughter, a second-degree felony; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor.

On Sept. 23, just before 8 p.m., Patrick was driving a Toyota Highlander on U.S. 89 and was behind a slow-moving large truck, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

"While speeding she passed a first vehicle in a no-passing zone or towards the end of a passing zone. She then attempted to pass a semitruck in a no-passing zone while approaching the crest of a hill and struck another vehicle in the oncoming lane," charging documents state.

The SUV hit a Volkswagen Jetta head-on. Annika "Annie" Jaramillo, 20, who was in the front passenger seat of the Jetta and was on her way to Lake Powell with friends, was killed. The driver was also critically injured, the UHP stated, and a backseat passenger in the Jetta was taken to a local hospital in "poor" condition.

Patrick was also transported to Kane County Hospital in poor condition while a passenger in her SUV was flown to Dixie Regional Medical center in critical condition.