Teen faces a long recovery after she was hit by a suspected DUI driver
Aug 6, 2024, 9:55 PM | Updated: 10:40 pm
ROOSEVELT, Duchesne County — A 17-year-old girl has a long road ahead of her after police say she was hit by a drunk driver.
It happened last Thursday night around 9:30 in Duchesne County. Haylee Carter and two of her friends were headed to get fast food in Roosevelt when police reports said 19-year-old Darius Robert Tapoof hit them.
Marian Carter, Haylee’s mother, said she got a call Thursday night that her daughter had been in a crash.
“She said your daughter has been in a terrible accident and you need to come,” Marian Carter told KSL TV.
As she arrived, the scene looked grim with debris everywhere.
“I thought, ‘Not my baby, not my baby’,” Carter said.
When Marian Carter, Haylee’s mom, arrived, there was debris everywhere. (Marian Carter)
Tapoof faces numerous charges, including leaving the scene of the accident.
Haylee’s arms are broken, and her femur is shattered along with other injuries. When her mother arrived on the scene, crews had just used the ‘jaws of life‘ to cut her out of her truck, which was destroyed.
“The hardest thing is seeing your child in so much pain,” Marian Carter said, who hasn’t left her side since she arrived at Primary Children’s Hospital.
Haylee plays the violin and is about to start her senior year at Altamont High School in Duchesne County. She’s a student body officer. She loves the truck that was just destroyed.
Haylee Carter is about to start her senior year, where she’s a student body officer. (Marian Carter)
Now, instead of starting school in the next couple of weeks, she will be working through injuries so severe, that doctors said it will be months of recovery.
The family has mounting expenses, if you would to help, they have set up a GoFundMe. Link here.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
