OREM, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials have identified a woman and a teen killed in a crash near Orem on Sunday morning.
The deceased individuals are Season M. Dow, 43, from Tampa, Florida, and Tobias A. Dow, 16, from American Fork, said a statement from Utah Highway Patrol. Officials did not say how the two were related.
A suspect, Kesley Pope, 22, from Pleasant Grove, was charged with two counts of felony automobile homicide after the collision.
Troopers responded to the crash southbound on the 800 North offramp in Orem about 12:05 a.m.
According to a probable cause statement filed in the case, “The passenger of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver was transported to Utah Valley Hospital with serious and possibly fatal injuries. A white pickup truck had rear-ended a small gray sedan and they were in the third lane from the right.”
Season Dow was the passenger in the Kia passenger car and Tobias Dow was driving. A Utah Highway Patrol statement says the victims were struck while stopped in an emergency lane.
“The driver of the pickup truck was identified as Kesley Pope,” the suspect’s probable cause statement continues. “While speaking with her in an open air environment I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from her breath.”
Post Miranda, Pope requested an attorney, the statement says, and questioning stopped.
“During the inventory of the vehicle Trooper Cornwall found a glass pipe with burned residue and green leafy substance suspected to be marijuana. Trooper Blair began to draft a search warrant for Pope’s blood.”
The officer then noted a witness statement that said Pope had agreed to take a sobriety test. Pope was found to be under the influence of alcohol and was deemed unable to drive a vehicle safely.
“Pope made multiple excited utterances that she thought she was OK to drive, that she had a few drinks with her friends and that she accepts full responsibility for what happened,” the statement said.
Pope’s breathalyzer reading came back at 0.10, twice the legal limit to be declared intoxicated. A blood sample was also collected for crime lab analysis.
“Pope was transported to Timpanogos Hospital for clearance, and then to the Utah County Jail where she was booked.”
Pope was charged with:
- Two counts of vehicular homicide — causing death with alcohol content of greater than 0.05, a third-degree felony (only one victim has died at this point)
- Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, a class B misdemeanor
A court document indicates Pope was released on her own recognizance.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to assist the victims in the crash.
“Season Dow was a mom of three and advocate for education for years,” the page says. “She worked as a special-ed tech in Florida and in the past few years was as an aide and student teacher at Ridgeline Elementary. This year she was living her dream as a third grade teacher at Brookhaven Elementary.”
On Saturday, October 30th, 2021 she and one of her children were hit by a car while sitting on the shoulder of the freeway.
