GRANTSVILLE, Utah, Oct. 23, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 26-year-old man is being held without bail after his car allegedly struck a pedestrian and her year-old son, and narrowly missed the woman’s 2-year-old son.
Nathan Michael Craven was arrested in the case. A neighbor’s surveillance video recorded the incident, which happened at Meadowlark Circle and west Clark Street, Grantsville police said.
“A woman pushing a baby stroller which contained her 1-year-old son can be seen approaching the intersection, followed by her 2-year-old son, who was riding a balance bike,” Craven’s affidavit says.
The woman stopped at the corner, and waited for her older son, who was walking while straddling the pedal-free bike, to catch up. She then checked to make sure no traffic was coming, and her son proceeded to cross the street, followed by the mother pushing the stroller.
“The son had made it to the other corner and the mother had walked approximately 35 feet across the road when Nathan, in his vehicle, could be seen rapidly turning from west Clark Street onto Meadowlark Circle heading south, turning at a high rate of speed into the opposite lane of travel.
“The woman screamed and waved her arms to try and stop Nathan, but the brake lights did not activate. Nathan’s vehicle struck the baby stroller with the front of his vehicle nearly in the center of the front bumper. The mother was also struck by the vehicle and thrown to the ground.
“His vehicle missed the child on the balance bike by mere inches. No avoidance maneuver could be seen.
“The stroller flew a measured 43 feet 4 inches and rolled on a sideways axis one complete rotation through the air, landing and coming to rest on the west side curb and gutter of the road.”
Craven’s vehicle drove another 51 feet from the point of impact, his affidavit says.
“Nathan, who was wearing a bright yellow Hi-visibility Construction shirt can be seen exiting the vehicle and coming around the vehicle towards the mother and stroller. The baby could then be heard crying when the mother approached the stroller.”
The year-old boy from the stroller “had a large head contusion and was actively bleeding. He was rushed to Primary Children’s Hospital and his mother was treated for injuries sustained in the incident,” the affidavit says.
An officer noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car, and Craven said he had a medical marijuana card, but had last smoked the previous night. He struggled with balance during a sobriety test, the affidavit says, had severe body tremors, and failed twice to touch his nose when asked.
The officer stated that Craven was “very wide-eyed and he had severe Miosis
in both eyes, with his pupils constricted well beyond normal ranges, even in daytime hours.”
Craven was placed under arrest, and admitted he had a bottle of fake urine concealed in his groin area. At the Grantsville Police Department, he consented to a blood draw and the interview. The test results were not included in the report.
“Based on the severity of Nathan’s charges and his obvious attempts to conceal his drug use, through the use of synthetic urine, I believe Nathan to be a serious threat to public safety while operating a vehicle,’ the officer wrote.
“There was no visible attempts to maneuver or avoid the mother and her children while driving recklessly. I believe that if released Nathan will continue to use narcotics and continue to operate a vehicle while under the influence.”
Craven was jailed for investigation of two counts of negligently operating a vehicle with serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony, and one count of possession of an adulterant or synthetic urine, an infraction. He was ordered held without bail.
Grantsville City police told Gephardt Daily that the woman and her youngest son had been treated for their injuries, then released.
