Last month I reported about the fatal accident where a man driving a dump truck full of dirt in the Tooele, Utah area turned left directly in front of a UPS truck driven by Alan Christofferson. Sadly, Mr. Christofferson passed away from injuries directly related to this crash.
Now, the driver of that dump truck, Steven Jakeman, has been charged with vehicular homicide, driving on a suspended or revoked license, and – really the violation that I think caused the whole crash to happen – failure to yield.
I am sure that Mr. Jakeman is tormented enough with knowing that his actions led to another person’s death. I think, though, that our state prosecutors have a duty to the citizens to prosecute motorists who violate Utah’s rules of the road and seriously injure and kill someone in the process. Criminal prosecution actually has a secondary effect of making our roads a little safer. After all, if a driver who causes a fatal accident only got a ticket for his actions, the censure may not be enough to make him and others think differently when they are in this situation again. Knowing that you can get jail time by putting others at risk on the highway adds an extra measure of accountability to those who drive on Utah’s roads. It’s like Utah’s DUI laws: those that drive drunk and get caught know that they will be in trouble if they are caught.
Published by: Ron Kramer
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