Man lied to officers about securing a bulldozer that killed a CEO in Ogden Canyon, police say

OGDEN — A man is being accused of lying to police about safely securing a bulldozer on his flatbed, which resulted in the death of a Utah CEO in the summer, police say.

According to charging documents, on July 6, Michael John Love, 52, was driving a flatbed tow truck in Ogden Canyon when he approached a right-leaning curve. When Love turned, the CEO of Lifetime Products, Richard David Hendrickson, his daughter Sally, and another passenger were driving in the opposite direction.

CEO of Lifetime Products one of two people killed, three others injured in Ogden Canyon crash

“As the vehicles were passing each other, the dozer slid to the left, breaking free of the chain and tow cable,” the documents stated. “The bulldozer landed on top of the passenger compartment of the victim-vehicle, crushing and killing the driver, (Hendrickson) his daughter, and seriously injuring another passenger.”

The second passenger in Henderickson’s car suffered an open fracture of the mandible, which dislodged their teeth.

As emergency crews arrived, Love was found near the opened storage compartment of the flatbed. Documents stated that Love admitted to a Weber County deputy that he “was moving chains.”

The deputy told Love to “leave everything where it is” since the scene was a crime scene. Police reported that the chains were not present before the accident.

Interview with police

According to documents, Love agreed to talk to investigators about the accident at a Utah Highway Patrol office and waived his Miranda rights.

During the interview, Love told investigators that his vehicle was stuck near the rear, and it caused the bulldozer to break free from the chains and fall on the victim’s car.

“He claimed he never left his travel lane, and that the victim’s vehicle left the west bound lane and struck him,” documents stated.

Love repeatedly claimed he secured the bulldozer the night before the accident with “‘two the back, ‘two on the front, and ‘one over the bucket.'” He also told investigators that there was an additional “‘J hook’ from the tow chain on the dozer and a chain over the bucket, for a total of 6 restrains,” according to the documents.

Investigators said that Love even drew markings on a diagram indicating where each chain was on his truck.

According to documents, Love told investigators that “‘it’s the height that gets you’ admitting that the height of the bed on the vehicle and the weight of the dozer made it unstable.”

Love said he believed the bulldozer weighed 22,000 pounds and was ” too heavy” for the tow truck. He also said the truck was a “‘(expletive) build.'”

‘This information is false’

After the police interview, documents stated that the “information was false, and Michael Love knew this information was false.”

Police determined that the bulldozer weighed about 32,000 pounds and exceeded Love’s tow truck’s maximum rating by 4,300 pounds.

Investigators obtained security footage from a gas station a few minutes before the crash, showing Love’s tow truck filling up their truck with gas.

Documents stated that it was “clearly visible” that the bulldozer was not secured “by the ‘four-points of contact,'” that Love told investigators.

“The video clearly shows that there is only one hook secured to the front of the dozer, which is the ‘winch cable” attached and does not legally count as a secure attachment,” the documents stated. “On the back and middle of the dozer is a single chain to the bed of the truck.”

Reconstruction experts determined that the placement of the chain would only “allow one-half the load rating of the chain, which was 5,000 pounds, or essentially 2,500 pounds of securing restraints for a 32,000-pound vehicle.”

The video also showed Love climbing over the back of the tow truck, where the bulldozer was located, without having to step over any chains.

According to the documents, witnesses gave written statements to police that neither Love nor Hendrickson crossed into oncoming traffic or hit each other. Police also found no evidence that an impact caused the bulldozer to fall from the tow truck.

Charges against Love

Investigators accused Love of trying to alter the evidence at the crash by placing the chains from his storage beds on the tow truck bed to make it look like he had properly secured them.

“The fact that some of Michael Love’s first actions after the crash were to attempt to place more chains into the scene to indicate that bulldozer was secured properly, demonstrates that he knew the bulldozer was not properly secured,” the documents state.

Investigators said that Love has years of experience towing vehicles and is the manager of Love’s Towing, founded in 2012, meaning he knew that the bulldozer wasn’t secured and he was operating negligently.

Love was arrested on Oct. 28 and is facing charges of two counts of second-degree felony manslaughter, second-degree felony aggravated assault, third-degree felony obstruction of justice, and a class-A misdemeanor of obstruction of justice, according to documents.

Love is facing a pending second-degree felony theft case and a third-degree felony case for false evidence.