SOUTH JORDAN, Utah, Oct. 11, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A 44-year-old Riverton woman has been charged with negligent homicide in the July 6 death of a 9-year-old South Jordan boy.
Shantil Woods Garn was charged Oct. 5 in the death of Brayden Long, who was sharing a ride on an electric bicycle with another 9-year-old boy on the shoulder of 11400 South near 2115 West just before noon when a black GMC Yukon drifted out of its lane and hit the boys, police said.
South Jordan police say Garn was speeding and told officers she did not see the boys or brake or swerve before hitting them with her vehicle, according to charging documents filed in Salt Lake City’s 3rd District Court.
Police say the Yukon was traveling an estimated 50 mph in a 40 mph zone. The boys were “dragged underneath the vehicle for 60 yards before being thrown to the curb on the right side of the road,” charging documents state.
“Garn stated she didn’t realize she had struck anything until she looked in her rearview mirror and saw the two juveniles,” the charges state.
Paramedics performed live-saving measures at the scene on both boys, who were then transported to Primary Children’s Hospital, according to police. Long later died at the hospital.
The other boy sustained a “serious head injury and internal injuries which required multiple surgeries,” police state in the charges.
Garn told police “she was late for an appointment” and handed her phone to her son to send a message, charging documents state.
“Skid marks confirmed that the point of impact was outside the lane of travel and in the shoulder area of the roadway,” according to charging documents.
Garn is charged with:
- Negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor
- Careless driving, a class C misdemeanor
- Failure to operate within a single lane, an infraction
- Speeding, an infraction
