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Driver charged with manslaughter after infant killed in Herriman crash; suspect had meth in his system

Posted at 2:47 PM, Apr 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-14 16:48:44-04

HERRIMAN, Utah- Nearly a week after the Herriman crash that killed a 5-month-old child and seriously injured five others, the driver police say is responsible has been charged with manslaughter, DUI and other charges.

Charging documents cite Lawrence Probert, 26 of Kearns, as the person responsible for the fatal collision at Mountain View Corridor and Rosecrest Road on Monday, April 9.

The documents also state Probert told medical personnel who responded to the crash that he had “smoked meth” earlier in the day, and a blood draw indicated the presence of methamphetamine in the man’s system.

Alice Skankey. Image courtesy family.

The crash caused the death of 5-month-old Alice Skankey.

“Minutes before the collision”, dispatchers say they received calls that claimed Probert was driving recklessly and at high speeds. Drivers say he was traveling between 90 and 120 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone.

One driver even claimed that Probert was “sideswiping all other vehicles as it passed by them.” That same driver was on the phone with dispatch as she watched the fatal crash occur.

Police say when Probert approached the intersection at 14400 south and Mountainview Corridor the light had been red for a “minimum of 7.5 seconds” and that at the speed he was traveling he would have needed an extra 300 feet to come to a stop.

The 1997  green GMC truck struck two vehicles in the intersection, seriously injuring two adults and their 3-year-old child and killing an infant in one vehicle. The 34-year-old male driver of the other vehicle suffered injuries that included multiple broken bones and a lacerated spleen.

Probert’s passenger was ejected from the vehicle, and she was paralyzed from the diaphragm down as a result of the crash and suffered other injuries, according to charging documents. The passenger told police she had asked Probert to slow down or stop and let her out, but said he kept driving recklessly.

A dog belonging to Probert’s passenger was in the vehicle’s back seat and was thrown from the vehicle, which caused the dog to lose an eye.

Charging documents state Probert was combative after the crash and was spitting blood at the paramedics.

In all Probert was charged with one count of manslaughter as a second-degree felony,  two counts of operating a vehicle negligently causing serious injury as second-degree felonies, three counts of DUI as third-degree felonies, one count of assault against a health care provider as a class A misdemeanor, and one count of cruelty to an animal (reckless or negligent) as a class C misdemeanor.