Charging documents reveal details in collision death of infant girl, injury of others in Herriman crash

Lawrence Probert. Photo: Salt Lake County

HERRIMAN, Utah, April 14, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — The man accused of causing a three-vehicle crash that killed an infant girl and injured five others has been formally charged.

Kearns resident Lawrence Clay Probert, 26, has been charged with:

  • Manslaughter, a second-degree felony
  • Two counts of operating a vehicle negligently, causing injury or death, a second-degree felony
  • Three counts of driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, one count a third-degree felony and two class A misdemeanors
  • Cruelty to an animal, a class C misdemeanor
  • Assault or threat of violence on a health care provider/EMS, a class A misdemeanor

Charging documents reveal that Probert had been smoking meth prior to the accident that killed 5-month-old Alice Skankey, and that a female passenger in Probert’s vehicle — a green 1997 GMC pickup —  begged him to slow down before the accident.

The collision occurred just after 7 p.m. Monday, April 9, on Mountain View Corridor near Rosecrest Road.

Just prior to the accident, dispatchers received calls saying that a man, later identified as Probert, was driving recklessly, at speeds estimated to be between 90 and 120 mph in a 55 mph zone.

One driver who called 911 said Probert was sideswiping all other vehicles as he sped past him, and he “must be on something,” according to court documents. She said her vehicle was traveling at 55 mph, and the green truck passed them “like they were standing still.”

The same driver was still on the phone with dispatchers when she witnessed the fatal crash.

According to the probable cause statement, Probert ran a traffic light that had turned red more than seven seconds before he entered the intersection.

Probert’s truck struck two vehicles. A 34-year-old man in a 2003 Dodge Dakota suffered multiple broken bones, a lacerated spleen and cuts and abrasions. His vehicle was thrown from the roadway into an adjacent field.

In the Skankey family vehicle, a 2016 Chrysler in which baby Alice died from blunt-force trauma to the neck and head, 2-year-old Yuki Skankey was seriously injured, as were parents Bryce and Tonya.

Probert’s passenger was ejected from his pickup, and is now paralyzed from the diaphragm down, according to charging documents. She suffered multiple fractured ribs, a punctured lung and a broken ankle.

The woman’s dog, which was in the back seat, also was ejected, and lost an eye due to its injury.

Probert’s final charge stems from charges that he was combative at the crash scene, and spit blood at paramedics attempting to help him. An experienced officer on the scene said Probert was acting as if he were “on some drug or illicit substance,” the probable cause statement says.

Probert admitted to EMTs that he had smoked meth earlier in the day, the statement said. A blood test later confirmed the presence of methamphetamine.

A GoFundMe page to pay for Alice’s funeral and help with family medical bills has been established by a family friend and confirmed to be legitimate by the fathers of Bryce and Tonya. To reach the page, click here.

2 COMMENTS

  1. And once again the driver under the influence walks away unscathed. A child gone forever, her sister and parents seriously injured and his young passenger paralyzed, her life forever changed. The courts have a moral responsibility to put this menace away for a long, long time. Let’s hope they do their job.

  2. The audacity that people have to say such things about people they do not know! He is not unscathed, and he is not a menace. His past has been put out there to make him out to be such a villain. There is nothing about how he has turned his life around, nothing reported about his true character. Trust me, There is no judge or man on this planet that can or will make him suffer more greatly than what he himself has and will continue to put himself through for the rest of his life because of the catastrophe that he has caused.
    Our hearts and souls hurt and are broken for the family and for the unfortunate innocent child whose life was taken and for everyone that was and has been affected.
    Instead of passing ignorant judgment, offer a prayer of love, send healing blessings and hope that everyone will find solace in God’s embrace and let God do the judging and punishment for he knows greater than any of us here trying to make sense of a tragedy that should have never happened.

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