Semi-tractor driver charged in Saratoga Springs crash that killed 13-year-old boy
by Pat Reavy ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Michael Lynn Fowers, 53, charged with manslaughter for May crash in Saratoga Springs.
- Fowers ran a red light, causing collision that killed Parker Samuel Gale, 13, police say.
- Dash-cam video showed light was red; Fowers claimed he thought it was green.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A 53-year-old man has been charged in connection with a crash in May between a large semi-trailer and a minivan that claimed the life of a teen boy.
Michael Lynn Fowers, of Genola, Utah County, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and four counts of reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor.
On May 14, Fowers "was driving a semi-tractor towing two side dump trailers eastbound on Pony Express Parkway in Saratoga Springs when the light turned yellow at the intersection with Mountainview Corridor," prosecutors stated in charging documents.
Fowers was traveling 40 mph in the 50-mph zone, but he "did not slow or stop for the changing light and entered the intersection eight seconds after it turned red," according to the charges.
A minivan traveling north entered the intersection on the green light. Parker Samuel Gale, 13, of Saratoga Springs, was in the front passenger seat, and three younger siblings were in the back.
The minivan "was struck broadside by (Fower's) semi-tractor. (The mother) and her son suffered serious injuries and were transported to area hospitals, where the child was pronounced deceased. A 10-year-old daughter that was in the back seat was also transported to the hospital with a concussion," the charges state.
Fowers told police he thought the light was green, "but other witnesses and his dash-cam video showed that the light turned red for him eight seconds before he entered the intersection," according to the charges. "(Fowers) did not brake or otherwise react until the point of collision."
Parker was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where he died from his injuries a few days later. His mother was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries.
A GoFundMe* was organized to help the family with medical expenses and funeral costs.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited into the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, consult your own advisers and proceed at your own risk.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Pat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops-and-courts beat.