Payson Hit-&-Run Driver Turns Himself In After Striking 9-Year-Old

PAYSON, Utah – A hit-and-run driver walked into the Payson City Police Department Thursday after he said he realized he may have seriously injured a boy Wednesday evening.

That 9-year-old boy, Adam Peavler, was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem after suffering a concussion and a facial fracture in the incident.

On Thursday, his mother said she was grateful for the case’s resolution.

“He’s tired,” said Peavler’s mother, Bonnie Stringham. “He’s out of it. He’s sore. He’s good. He’s a tough, tough kid. But, I think all things considered, for how this could have gone he’s OK.”

At 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, 800 South in Payson next to the Hillman Sports Complex was filled with first responders helping Peavler while others tried to track down the hit-and-run driver.

Peavler was walking home with his 12-year-old sister and a couple of her friends when he was struck by the pickup truck.

“She said Adam got hit, and he drove off,” Stringham said.

Other witnesses, working nearby, said the truck drove on the sidewalk for around 100 yards before speeding away at the next cross street, leaving Peavler on the sidewalk.

“He just kind of went down on the sidewalk in his face took the brunt of it,” Stringham said.

Peavler’s face was banged up as he suffered a facial fracture and a concussion in the crash.

“He’s tired,” Stringham said. “His body took a beating, and he’s resting.”

The driver was identified by Payson police as Jason Broadhead on Thursday. They said Broadhead saw a Facebook post from police and realized the truck description and crash location matched his truck and his driving route.

“His statement is that he didn’t know that he had struck somebody. He remembers opening his eyes and being on the sidewalk and then coming off of the sidewalk onto the road,” said Sergeant Noemi Sandoval.

The driver told police he spotted a couple of city workers, felt embarrassed about driving on the sidewalk and drove away.

“We’re confident that that was the truck and obviously he was the one that was driving it,” Sandoval said.

Stringham said they are not angry and were grateful to know what happened, adding she was amazed at how quickly so many people rallied around her son.

“We’ve just had an insane outpouring of love and care and concern from complete strangers that I’ve never heard of never met,” she said.

She said she began receiving supportive messages before she even got to the hospital.

“It’s really appreciated the fact that people just care and he’s going to hear about all of it,” she said.

Police said Broadhead will be charged with leaving the scene of an accident that caused an injury.