Police: Fatal Moab Crash Caused By Speeding Driver
Feb 10, 2020, 3:47 PM | Updated: Feb 12, 2020, 2:18 pm
FILE: Moab police
MOAB, Utah – A crash that killed one man and critically injured his son was allegedly caused by a speeding driver, according to Chief Bret Edge with the Moab City Police Department.
Police responded to the fatal crash on U.S. Highway 191 near Center Street in Moab just after 8 p.m. on Sunday.
The victim was identified as 45-year-old Vilsar Camey, of Moab, on Monday. Officials said his son, 10-year-old Israel Camey, was critically injured in the crash and died on Tuesday.
Authorities said 41-year-old Benjamin Balls was driving a pickup truck near the south end of town when Grand County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a call of a driver speeding and running vehicles off the road.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper saw the reported truck and attempted to initiate a traffic stop before the driver sped through a red light at 400 East and Main Street within city limits.
Edge said the trooper disengaged, recognizing the danger of a vehicle pursuit through town, and deputies with the Grand County Sheriff’s Office began following the driver at a distance.
Deputies said Balls then ran a red light at Center Street and Main Street (U.S. 191) using the left turn lane, where he struck an SUV occupied by Vilsar and Israel Camey before hitting a second SUV being driven by 30-year-old Katherine Sawyer.
Multi-Vehicle Crash Closes US 191 In Moab
LIVE: U.S. Hwy 191 is CLOSED in both directions in Moab (Main Street between Center Street and 100 North) due to a multi-vehicle crash.
Posted by KSL 5 TV on Sunday, February 9, 2020
According to police, the crash created a chain reaction causing damage to several vehicles parked on Main Street.
Vilsar Camey was killed in the crash, authorities said, and Israel Camey died two days later. Sawyer was transported to an area hospital and treated for her injuries.
No further updates on the victims’ conditions were immediately available.
Balls was also taken to a local hospital before being released into the custody of Moab City police officers.
He was booked into the Grand County Jail on charges including manslaughter, reckless driving and failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop resulting in death or injury.
U.S. 191 was closed for several hours during the investigation and reopened just after midnight Monday.
Crews from the Moab City Police Department, Utah Highway Patrol, Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County Emergency Medical Services, Moab Valley Fire Department, Moab City Public Works and the Utah Department of Transportation responded and assisted at the scene of the crash, according to Edge.
