Man arrested in connection to crash that killed 16-year-old
Nov 26, 2021, 9:08 AM
Ammon Blake, 16, was killed in a May crash. (KSL TV)
(KSL TV)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — The driver suspected of causing a crash that killed 16-year-old Ammon Blake in May has been arrested.
Police say 28-year-old Daniel Macbeth was taken into custody on Wednesday. He was booked into the Utah County Jail on a second-degree felony charge of manslaughter, and misdemeanor charges of driving on a suspending license and driving with a measurable amount of a controlled substance.
Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Harvest Hills Blvd. and Redwood Rd. on May 25. Blake, a sophomore at Westlake High School, was killed in the crash.
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Police said Macbeth was tailgating an off-duty officer while driving southbound on Redwood Rd. when he suddenly changed lanes, accelerated past the officer and “gestured his middle finger” at him.
The officer told police Macbeth stuck his arm out of his window and made the gesture a second time as he continued on Redwood Rd., approaching Harvest Hills Blvd.
According to a probable cause statement, the off-duty officer and witnesses saw the light turn red before Macbeth arrived at the intersection in his white Mercedes 500. Witness said the light was red for 2-3 seconds before Macbeth entered the intersection and collided with Blake’s Ford Focus, which was turning left onto Redwood Rd.
Investigators estimate Macbeth was traveling at 94 mph at the time of the crash.
Macbeth “told officers that he had been drinking alcohol earlier in the morning, and that he woke up and was driving to a job,” officers said in the probable cause statement.
He added he saw the light turn yellow and he wouldn’t have had time to stop, so he stepped on the gas.
A blood sample was taken after the crash, which showed Macbeth “had a blood alcohol level of 0.01 and had 519 nanograms per milliliter of benzoylecgonine, which is the major metabolite of cocaine.”
Macbeth was previously convicted of impaired driving and had warrants for his arrest from previous cases regarding driving on a suspended license.
The arresting officers stated Macbeth accelerated to 83 mph on a road with a 40 mph speed limit right before he was taken into custody.
