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Herriman community mourns teen killed in crash on Bangerter

Posted at 6:58 PM, Feb 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-15 20:58:26-05

HERRIMAN, Utah – A community is grieving the loss of a life taken much too soon.

Wednesday, 17-year-old Herriman High School student Bryson Hathaway was killed in a car accident on Bangerter Highway.

Thursday, the school brought in 11 counselors to help students deal with their emotions.

“I tell them that everyone grieves differently, that it’s difficult," said John Blodgett, the head counselor at the school. "That the timeline for going through these things is different for everyone.”

Blodgett estimates more than 100 students sought support.

“It has been tough, it’s been difficult,” Blodgett said.

He believes it is important for students to grieve together.

“We are constantly using the term Herriman family,” Blodgett said. “We are family, we pull through.”

Signs of that community support are seen at a memorial coming together near the site of the accident. A GoFundMe page has also raised more than $25,000 for the Hathaway family.

“This family truly has served all the people around them,” said Brad Russell, a longtime friend of the Hathaway family.

He saw Bryson just last week at a banquet for the Herriman baseball team.

“I watched him on the sidelines since he was a young man, and you just couldn’t find a better young man than him,” Russell said. “I mean, his smile brightened up the room.”

That smile was unforgettable.

“He just had a smile that not a lot of people do,” Russell said.

Russell hopes to create a scholarship in Bryson’s honor to preserve his memory and give him a lasting legacy in the community.