UTAH COUNTY, Utah, July 23, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials have identified a South Jordan man who died after a side-by-side UTV rollover in American Fork Canyon Sunday night.
The deceased has been identified as Richard Tomlinson, 65, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday.
Tomlinson and his wife were riding the side-by-side UTV in the Dutchman Flat area of American Fork Canyon at about 9 p.m. and took what they thought would be a shortcut, the news release said. The location is an old mining area along the Snake Creek Road, near Mineral Basin, and is popular for camping and off-highway vehicle use, officials said.
Deputies with the UCSO were dispatched to a report of a crash in the area a little after 10 p.m.
“The caller reported that a woman told him she and her husband were coming down the mountain when the trail ended,” the news release said. “The woman had gotten out of the side-by-side while her husband was attempting to move the vehicle. During this effort the side-by-side rolled over and down an embankment, injuring the man and trapping him underneath the vehicle.”
The woman reported that her husband was badly injured. When deputies and Lone Peak Ambulance personnel arrived on scene they found that the man was already deceased, after suffering serious head injuries.
His body was recovered by UCSO Search and Rescue at about 3 a.m. Monday and was taken to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner in Taylorsville to determine the exact cause of death.
The woman was uninjured, officials said.
Officials said no drugs or alcohol were involved, and the incident was simply a tragic accident.
