Family remembers motorcyclist, who was killed by DUI driver who had previous convictions

AMERICAN FORK, Utah — A motorcyclist was killed in a crash with a truck Friday evening. The truck’s driver was taken into custody for allegedly driving under the influence.

Jason Hughes, 32, died in the crash. He leaves behind five children, ages 3 to 11 years old. He was a diesel mechanic for the Utah Department of Transportation.

“It’s hard to think about how young my kids are,” said Brandi Hughes, who was married to Jason for 12 years. “They’ll never have their dad here…they’re too young to not have a dad.”

She said she was close to Hughes and will remember him for being a dedicated father.

“The only thing he ever told me about being a dad was, ‘I want my kids to have a better life than I had,'” she said. “He was doing everything to make that happen.”

Brandi Hughes said Jason loved to ride his motorcycle every chance he got.

“He would ride it as long as he could every year. Every time he went anywhere, that’s what he wanted to take,” she said. “He would take the kids up and down the street. Date nights were always on the bike.”

She and police said this collision was preventable.

“I would encourage people to wear a helmet and to watch for bikes, and don’t drink and drive,” Brandi said.

The driver of the truck was identified as 51-year-old Daniel Foster.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, a motorcycle was heading northbound on State Street, approaching the business, Timp Rental. A truck was stopped in the parking lot exit of Timp Rental. The truck pulled out onto State Street, making a left-hand turn. The motorcycle crashed into the driver-side rear panel of the truck.

“The impact caused the truck to spin around 180 degrees and face the parking lot it just exited,” the affidavit stated.

The driver of the motorcycle was unconscious and was transported to American Fork Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

Video surveillance from surrounding businesses showed the motorcycle traveling at a high rate of speed and then the truck pulling out in front of the motorcycle when they collided.

According to court documents, officers reviewed the footage and estimated the motorcycle’s speed to be higher than the speed limit in that area of 35 mph.

Police requested Foster come to the police department for an interview and a blood draw.

Foster told officers he had consumed alcohol the night before and was concerned it would show up in his blood. He told officers he had not had any alcohol since then.

In the interview, Foster said he looked down the road and saw the motorcycle coming down the road but believed he had time to go, and pulled out when he was struck.

Investigators went through Foster’s backpack from the car and found three prescription bottles, an empty bottle of Captain Morgan Spice Rum, and another bottle 3/4 full.

At this point, a certified drug recognition expert was asked to respond and conducted field sobriety tests on Foster. That detective “smelled the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on Daniel’s (Foster’s) breath,” according to the probable cause statement.

Foster consented to a breath test, which resulted in a .217 BrAC — more than four times the legal limit.

Foster told officers the reason his BrAC was so high was because he had three pints of rum the night before. “Detectives told Daniel (Foster) that the human body metabolizes alcohol in the body at a certain rate and it would be impossible for Daniel to be at a .217 BrAC if he only drank alcohol last night.”

Foster then admitted to detectives that he drank half a pint of Captain Morgan 100 proof in the morning before work and then a second half a pint of Captain Morgan 100 proof at approximately 2 p.m. The crash was reported at 5:47 p.m.

According to the affidavit, “Daniel (Foster) admitted to being an alcoholic and stated, ‘I drink every night until I black out.’”

A check on Foster’s driver’s license showed he is an alcohol-restricted driver.

Foster’s criminal history shows five previous charges related to alcohol or driving under the influence since 1991.

• 1991 — Larceny and illegal possession of alcohol
• 1992 — Driving under the influence of liquor
• 2002 — Assault against a police officer, driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, failure to remain at accident-injury/death
• 2010 — Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs
• 2016 — Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs

He may face charges in this collision of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in death, a second-degree felony, and driving under the influence of alcohol, a third-degree felony due to two or more prior convictions in 10 years.

If you wish to donate to the family of Hughes, you can visit their GoFundMe.*

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