TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — A man has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing the death of a victim who was standing on the shoulder of Interstate 80.
Saturday around 9 a.m., the driver of a Mercedes Sprinter van had pulled over on the side of eastbound I-80 near milepost 55 (near the Aragonite exit). The passenger, who was the driver's son, told Utah Highway Patrol troopers that the driver got out to check the tires on the van or the trailer it was pulling.
A Hyundai Elantra driven by 43-year-old Shelby Kenneth Secrist then crashed into the trailer and also hit the driver. The victim, a man whose name has not been released, died from his injuries.
The UHP trooper who responded to the scene said Secrist's "speech and demeanor were sluggish," and his eyes were bloodshot and "glassy looking." The trooper then conducted field sobriety tests and said it appeared he was impaired. A breath test for alcohol was also administered, but the result was negative. Secrist's blood was later drawn at the UHP office after he consented to a blood test.
The trooper said he found marijuana and paraphernalia after Secrist told him during a pat-down that he had the items on him.
According to the arrest report, agents with the Utah State Bureau of Investigations also responded to the scene and found an open flask with alcohol in it, along with more drugs and paraphernalia. They also said there were several bottles of liquor in the trunk of the car, one of which had been opened and was partially empty.
Secrist was booked into the Tooele County Jail and ordered to be held without bail. He faces a felony charge of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in death, as well as a misdemeanor of driving under the influence and four various charges related to the alcohol and drugs found in his vehicle.
