UTAH COUNTY, Utah, July 23, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Tragedy struck late Sunday when a South Jordan couple went out for a night ride on their side-by-side UTV.
The husband and wife, both older adults, were in the Dutchman Flat area of American Fork Canyon at about 9:30 p.m. and took what they thought would be a shortcut, Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt J. Gordon said.
“They knew the area, but this turned out to be a narrow trail that took them to a dead end,” Gordon told Gephardt Daily.
Because they were in such a narrow spot, the pair decided to back up, and as they were doing so, one side of the UTV went off the hillside.
Gordon said the UTV rolled, crushing the man beneath it. It’s likely that he died almost immediately. His wife was uninjured.
The area has no cellphone service, so a passerby came down from that remote part of the canyon and called for help.
Gordon said by the time the LifeFlight medical helicopter arrived, there was nothing that could be done for the man. His body was taken to the medical examiner’s office to determine the exact cause of death.
“No drugs or alcohol were involved,” Gordon said. “This was just a tragic accident.”
The names of the couple are not being released, pending notification of family members.
Sgt. Gordon had a final word of praise for the Search and Rescue team that responded to what was a technically difficult operation.
He said, “Search and Rescue did an amazing job with this body recovery, making sure everyone stayed safe and no one was hurt.”
