Two men charged with manslaughter for 2022 crash that killed pregnant mother

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah (ABC4) — Three years ago, a woman was driving through Big Cottonwood Canyon with her two children and a female passenger.

They would be involved in a crash with a dump truck that took the woman’s life and hospitalized the three passengers. Two men are now being charged with the death of the woman and her unborn baby.

Jonathan Ryan Sargent, the dump truck driver, and Dalton Nathan Wheeler, the operator of the company that Sargent was driving for, have both been charged with two counts of second-degree felony manslaughter. Wheeler is being charged personally and as a representative of his company.

Court documents indicate that the crash was caused by a failure to maintain the brakes on the vehicle, which was the responsibility of Wheeler’s company. Additionally, it’s alleged that Sargent was likely driving too fast when the brakes gave out, causing the dump truck to tip.

Crash investigation

According to court documents, on Aug. 15, 2022, the Unified Police Department responded to a fatal crash near the Storm Mountain picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon. When they arrived, officers found that a Mack dump truck was on its side, and medical responders were treating four occupants of a Honda Pilot.

The Honda had asphalt from the dump truck inside, and the three passengers were transported to the hospital. An adult female and a 4-year-old were both in critical condition, and a 2-year-old was in stable condition. The driver of the Honda was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Investigators identified the driver as Jessica Keetch Minnesota, a West Jordan woman. They later learned that she was 12 weeks pregnant at the time that she died.

The driver of the dump truck, Sargent, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He told police investigators that he was coming down the canyon with a “full load of asphalt millings.” Sargent allegedly said that he was traveling 25 miles per hour in low gear, but suddenly began picking up speed.

According to Sargent, his truck lost its brakes and “popped out of gear” as he was rounding a corner in the canyon. He explained to the police that he had tried to turn into the hillside, but it began tipping as the victim’s Honda was rounding the corner.

A witness reported that she was driving in the canyon and stopped at a construction light. While waiting for it to turn green, she saw the dump truck pass her vehicle “at a very high rate of speed and showed no signs of slowing.”

The Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) investigated the truck following the crash. Documents say that UHP found that two axles on the right side of the dump truck were inoperable, one had “insufficient brake linings,” and one had “no movement of the push rod or brake pads.” Two of the six brakes were out of service, and four rear axle brakes were not working properly.

“This condition was due to faulty maintenance and the brakes being out of adjustment… the truck did not show signs of burnt brakes, nor were the drum and brake lining cracking or discolored. The nonfunctional brakes were cold to the touch, and the wheels rolled freely as the truck was towed,” court documents read.

A critical curve analysis was performed by the police to determine how quickly Sargent approached the curve in the canyon. Tire marks showed that he was likely traveling at 54 miles per hour when he lost control. Minnesota appeared to have been traveling at 30 miles per hour five seconds before the crash, then slowing to 12 miles per hour immediately before. This meant that she was reacting to Sargent’s driving.

Using a glide test with an empty Mack dump truck, investigators learned that Sargent would have been traveling over 35 miles per hour when he passed the 25 miles per hour speed limit sign. Police also identified two potential turnout locations that he could have used instead of tipping the truck.

Alleged failed maintenance

During litigation after the crash, more information would be learned about what led up to the failure of the brakes on the dump truck. According to court documents, Wheeler was the operator of Alpine Excavation, LLC, who owned the truck at the time of the fatal collision.

Wheeler allegedly stated that Sargent was not a “hired driver,” so he never completed a ride-along to evaluate his technique. He also said that drivers were required to do a pre-trip and post-trip inspection on their truck, and had to turn in inspection records and maintenance tickets.

A driver at the company testified that the company “did not have a requirement” to keep these inspection forms, and that the “customary practice was to inform Wheeler verbally if a truck needed maintenance.”

Through litigation, it was learned that the dump truck involved in the crash had been “red tagged” by UDOT the year before for an issue with the push rod, police say.

According to court documents, it was also learned that a month before the crash, a mobile mechanic had worked on the dump truck but was unable to completely fix the brakes. The mechanic told a driver that the truck needed further maintenance before it was roadworthy.

On the day of the fatal crash, a witness allegedly spoke with Sargent at the job site up Big Cottonwood Canyon, while they were waiting for their trucks to be loaded with asphalt millings. According to the witness, Sargent said he had never transported asphalt millings and asked what to do if the brakes were to “pop out of gear” while driving.

A court summons is being issued for Wheeler and Sargent. They are not being booked into jail at this time.