Highland man sentenced to jail for causing 6-vehicle DUI crash in 2022

PROVO — A Utah judge ordered a Highland man who caused a six-car crash on Timpanogos Highway while under the influence to spend 180 days in jail and three years on probation after he admitted to negligent driving.

William Allen Andrew Koontz, 36, claimed he saw cars that were stopped at a red light, but “his sandal got stuck under the brake pedal, and he could not stop or slow down,” charging documents state. He slammed into the back of one car, setting off a chain-reaction accident involving multiple vehicles stopped at the light.

The crash happened on Sept. 24, 2022. The first car that was hit was “crushed and unrecognizable,” according to the charges, and three people were injured. One of them was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Two people in each of the next two vehicles were also treated for injuries.

Investigators found drug paraphernalia in his car and an empty alcohol bottle — and found out that his license was suspended and that he was supposed to have an interlock device installed in any vehicle he drives, the charges state.

A blood draw was conducted and Koontz was found to have amphetamine and morphine in his system, neither of which he had a prescription for, according to the charges. Koontz had two prior convictions for DUI.

Fourth District Judge Sean Petersen gave Koontz prison sentences but suspended them if he successfully completes probation — including three terms of zero to five years for two counts of negligently operating a vehicle causing serious injury and driving under the influence with at least two prior convictions, third-degree felonies.

Koontz was also given three sentences of one year in jail for three counts of negligently operating a vehicle causing injuries, a class A misdemeanor — and the judge gave him credit toward these for time he has already spent in jail.

He was ordered to pay money to some of the people affected by the crash as part of his sentence, totaling almost $3,500.

Koontz pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 3 under a plea deal that dismissed two counts of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious injury, a third-degree felony; two counts of possession or use of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor; possession or use of drug paraphernalia and operating a vehicle without an interlock device, class B misdemeanors, driving on a suspended or revoked license, a class C misdemeanor; and following another car too closely, an infraction.