OGDEN, Utah — A family is dealing with a tragedy after what should have been a fun night of watching fireworks on the Fourth of July in Ogden.
Eleven-year-old Maya Burton remains hospitalized with a broken pelvis and internal injuries after she was hit by a former police officer suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and “sandwiched” between his truck and her aunt’s car.
"It’s definitely very panicking,” said Heather Burton, Maya’s grandmother. “You don’t expect your son to call you with this kind of news."
The day started with the family celebrating the holiday, before Maya and other family members went to watch fireworks near the Ogden airport.
"I got a call about 10:30 from my son, very upset, and said that Maya had been hit,” Burton explained.
According to witnesses, the suspect, Tyler Allen Crouch, was driving at “an unsafe speed” before the incident in which Maya was pinned between Crouch's truck and her aunt’s car. Her aunt and cousins were also hurt in the crash, but Maya’s injuries are the most severe.
Ogden City Police confirmed that Crouch, 49, was a police officer within the department from 2009 until his termination in 2017. He also had two prior DUI convictions, which led to him being charged with a felony for this crash.
"She’s just very tired, still in a lot of pain. She’s very brave,” Heather said. “She’s doing good, she’s just obviously hurting."
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Heather is grateful that the outcome was not worse, but still wishes this did not happen.
"Wish he wouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel,” Heather said. “This wouldn’t have happened to the grandkids.”
Maya's family said she is spunky, loves playing sports, and is a kind friend, and now faces a long road to recovery.
"She loves Curious George and Spider-Man, she likes making TikToks, she likes doing her little crafts. She’s a fun kid,” said her aunt, Hadlee Burton. "I think the biggest thing is going to be the mental trauma of realizing that you were just trying to watch fireworks like everybody else does, and something life-changing like this happens."
Maya’s parents have four other children and, with Maya’s recovery, face mounting bills. A family friend has set up a GoFundMe for them, which can be found HERE. Another GoFundMe has also been set up to help some of the other victims, found HERE.
