EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah – Pioneer Day marks a solemn anniversary for a family in Eagle Mountain, and Friday was the one-year anniversary of the death of 15-year-old Katie Hancock—who suffered fatal injuries in a crash caused by a drunken driver.
The Utah County Sheriff's Office posted a reminder on Facebook Friday about the accident and the family's efforts to prevent DUI.
Katie was killed one year ago in a crash on SR-73 when a drunken driver crossed over the center line.
The Sheriff’s Office posted a reminder Friday, which said in part: "One year ago today a family's life was changed forever. 15 year old Katie Hancock, a beautiful 15 year old young woman with a bright future ahead of her, was tragically killed in a crash with a DUI driver in Eagle Mountain. The DUI driver was also killed in the crash. Her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit."
Katie’s father and two of her brothers survived the crash.
On this anniversary, law enforcement officers are hoping their online reminder encourages drivers to be responsible.
"We just hope that we can go a whole weekend without having anything like that as a result of an impaired driver, either because of alcohol or drugs,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
Cannon said DUI stops spike around holiday weekends. Although he said Pioneer Day does not tend to see as large of an uptick as holidays like Halloween or the Super Bowl weekend, the numbers do go up.
The sheriff’s office also linked to a touching video that was filmed for a driving sober event last Christmas, during which Katie’s father speaks about the high cost he and his family has paid as a result of one person’s decision to drink and drive. See below for that video.
