WEST VALLEY CITY, UTAH – October 27, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – A 12-year-old boy who was hit by a utility truck near Gerald L. Wright Elementary Friday morning has passed away.
According to Granite School District spokesperson Ben Horsley, Ashton Roach, 12, of West Valley City died Tuesday morning after suffering severe skull fracture as well as multiple other fractures including his pelvis, leg, arm, and eye socket. He has been in a medically induced coma since the incident Friday morning.
Lt. Scott Buchanan of the West Valley City Police Department said the truck hit the child at 3100 South and 6889 West at around 7:15 a.m. “The boy was crossing the street from the south side to the north side, and as he was crossing he was hit by a truck that was travelling eastbound,” said Buchanan. The accident took place in a residential area, and the child was not in a crosswalk. He was on his way to be picked up by a bus to take him to Brockbank Junior High School in Magna. His mom was with him at the time of the incident.
The boy was transported to Jordan Valley West Medical Center, then air lifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in serious condition and was originally expected to survive.
The driver stayed at the scene, and no citations have been brought at this time, though the accident will be investigated. There was no indication the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“There are all sorts of reasons why the crash might have occurred,” said Lt. Buchanan. “The sun is rising, we are in a residential area and kids are crossing all over the place in order to get to school in the morning, and now we are getting into the colder months you have cars that are parked outside with frost on their windshields, all these things together equal a need to be extremely careful.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with expenses.
