16-year-old ejected, killed in suspected DUI crash
Mar 31, 2025, 12:22 PM | Updated: 2:42 pm
(KSL TV)
(KSL TV)
TOOELE — A 16-year-old passenger was killed after being ejected from a truck in a drunk-driving crash Sunday, according to police.
The driver, Jaxon Douglas-David Wood, 18, was later booked into jail on suspicion of automobile homicide.
According to the court affidavit, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper arrived at the scene to find a deputy performing CPR on the teen. Wood was standing next to the deputy.
Minutes after paramedics arrived, the teen was pronounced dead.
The trooper said they could smell alcohol immediately at the scene, according to the affidavit, which was on state Route 36 near milepost 30.
“From my initial cursory inspection of the crash scene, it appeared that the truck had left its lane of travel and veered off the side of (the road),” the trooper wrote. “It appeared that the truck had rolled and ejected both occupants of the vehicle.”
The trooper began questioning Wood, who said through slurred speech that he had been driving. The affidavit said Wood also had red, bloodshot eyes and relaxed facial features.
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Wood performed DUI field tests for the trooper, where he showed signs of intoxication. His breathalyzer results came back indicating his blood alcohol content was 0.18.
Wood told the trooper he had been traveling from a bonfire party where he had drunk a few beers. There were also open bottles of alcoholic containers found in the debris field of the crash in addition to a THC vape and tobacco vapes.
Wood admitted later he had been driving 85 mph in a 65 mph zone.
Officers at the scene concluded that neither occupant was likely wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Wood was recommended a felony automobile homicide charge and six class B misdemeanor charges related to driving under the influence and possessing controlled substances under the legal age. Responding law enforcement also recommended four infractions for speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt, failing to operate within a single lane, and possession of tobacco by a minor.
This article corrects an originally misstated age of the driver in this case. He was 18 at the time of the crash.
