ST. GEORGE — A Hurricane man appeared for sentencing Monday in connection with a 2019 fatal crash on state Route 9 and 6300 West that killed a college student.
Christopher Rhys Weaver appeared in 5th District Court before Judge Keith C. Barnes to be sentenced on third-degree felony automobile homicide, a charge that was amended from a second-degree felony. The jury previously returned a guilty verdict on the lesser charge in a four-day trial that culminated Dec. 3
The 39-year-old Hurricane resident was also found guilty of speeding, an infraction.
According to the state, on Oct. 11, 2019, Weaver was heading to work in a 2017 Ford pickup truck at more than 70 mph in a 60 mph zone when he came upon the stopped traffic and failed to stop. When the defendant slammed into the back of a Mazda hatchback, the impact caused injuries so severe that the driver, 20-year-old Kylie B. Park, of Riverton, never regained consciousness at the scene and died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
According to trial testimony, Park was on fall break and going to Zion National Park to go hiking on the day of the crash.
Washington County prosecutors Jim Weeks and Zachary Weiland represented the state in the case, while Weaver was represented by defense attorney Scott Garrett.
The Park family presented a victim impact statement in the form of a video to show the court what a giving person the 20-year-old was and the opportunities that were still ahead of her before the Oct. 11 crash.
Her father, Ryan Park, said she didn’t live very long beyond adolescence – “just as the training wheels were coming off, without her ever having the opportunity to throw caution to the wind and see what happens.” That opportunity, he said, was taken from her the day she was killed.
“And let’s be clear, Kylie was killed,” Ryan Park said.
He went on to say his daughter had touched so many lives during her short time on Earth, evidenced by the hundreds that attended her funeral.
He went on to say the family will never know what opportunities she would have had or the challenges she would have overcome, and the list of possibilities that goes on and on.
“Kylie, we miss you,” he said.
The prosecutor, Weiland, then addressed the court, saying that since the crash in 2019, the defendant has continued to live his life without any changes to modify the behaviors that led to Park’s death.
Weiland said extensive evidence was presented during the trial that clearly showed the dangers of mixing alcohol and drugs with driving, evidence directly linked to Weaver’s actions that day.
“He continued to do that even after killing Kylie Park,” Weiland said.
Three months after the fatal collision, he said, officers in Iron County responded to an incident involving a vehicle that was weaving all over the road.
Weaver was behind the wheel when the vehicle was stopped, the prosecutor said, and reportedly admitted to taking prescription pills and drinking alcohol earlier that day. Weaver was subsequently arrested and charged with a DUI, as well as an open container charge, and the case is still pending in the courts.
But Weaver was not done yet, Weiland said.
On Sept. 30, 2020, less than a year after the fatal crash, the defendant was stopped in St. George after an officer following behind the vehicle noticed the driver weaving all over the roadway and driving erratically.
After the defendant allegedly ran a red light and nearly struck a concrete barrier, the vehicle was stopped and Weaver was arrested and charged with reckless driving. The case is scheduled for a bench trial in March.
On Dec. 2, 2020, the defendant was arrested again following a traffic stop, Weiland said, when officers discovered Weaver was driving on a suspended license in Washington City. He entered into a plea in abeyance agreement on the charge, which he violated when he was arrested following a traffic stop in Iron County on May 4, 2021.
In that case, an off-duty officer in Cedar City reported seeing a vehicle heading north on Interstate 15 that was weaving in and out of the lane, nearly striking the concrete barrier multiple times. Weiland said when officers stopped the vehicle, they identified the driver as Weaver, who was traveling with his 12-year-old son at the time.
Weaver was charged with DUI with a minor in the vehicle and for being an alcohol-restricted driver.
Once Weiland caught wind of the new DUI case in Iron County, the prosecutor submitted a request for the defendant to be held without bail until the fatal DUI case was resolved.
The defendant’s history, including the four cases filed against him after the fatal crash, clearly demonstrated that Weaver had no intention of stopping the behaviors that continued to place the public at risk, Weiland said.
“His history is not that of someone who shows remorse,” he said. “Justice now demands that he go to prison for killing Kylie Park.”
Weaver’s defense attorney, Garrett, also addressed the court and said his client had no criminal history prior to the fatal crash, adding that Weaver had been taking prescription medication for several years following a series of surgeries and medical problems with his back.
Garrett said previous to Oct. 11, 2019, his client had no issues with his ability to control a motor vehicle while taking his medication as prescribed. On the day of the crash, the attorney said, Weaver had no idea that anything would be any different, which Garrett said was an important detail to note as far as intent goes.
“Our contention is that my client had no intention of hurting anybody that day,” he said. “Why would Chris think that morning was going to be any different?”
He went on to say that Weaver was going through some family issues and other difficulties over the course of the last few years, adding that while being in custody since June, his client is no longer on the medication, his health has improved and he has remained clean and sober during his time in jail. He also said his client has also come to realize he needs treatment.
Garrett also referred to the many letters submitted to the court in support of his client, who he said was gainfully employed with a master’s degree and had many things going for him, including strong family support that would help him to be successful once he has finished out his sentence.
Garrett closed by saying Weaver knows that many lives were changed forever after the crash and that his client knows he will be punished.
“My client knows he needs punishment, and he’s ready for that and accepts that,” Garrett said.
Weaver also spoke during the hearing by saying the crash changed many lives forever, and if there was anything he could do to change what happened that day then he would do that.
“That day changed my life, my family’s life, and unthinkably changed the lives of the Park family forever,” he said.
He went on to apologize to each of the victim’s family members and said, “I would do anything to change what happened that day.”
Garrett then asked the court to consider two sentencing options, the first of which was to sentence his client to serve one year in jail followed by an intense residential treatment program that also included followup treatment and counseling services.
The second option would include a two-year commitment to a residential treatment program in lieu of a jail sentence, followed by outpatient treatment and supervised probation.
Garrett requested that, if sentenced to prison, Weaver be afforded the opportunity to participate in substance abuse treatment while in custody.
Garrett closed by saying Weaver is “a good man and he has a good heart.”
During Weiland’s rebuttal, the prosecutor said instead of taking responsibility for his actions that cost the 20-year-old woman her life, Weaver went to great efforts to hide what he was doing and even went as far as endangering his own child by his actions, referring to the DUI arrest in Iron County that took place with his son in the vehicle.
“If he was truly remorseful and sorry for what he had done,” Weiland said, “then why didn’t he seek treatment after he killed Kylie Park?”
The prosecutor went on to say the state’s position is that anyone who operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs deserves to go to prison, and anything less would be unacceptable.
“The Park family deserves more than that,” Weiland said in closing.
Prior to Barnes’ ruling, the judge went over the events that led up to the crash, saying Weaver was speeding on SR-9, and in spite of signs posted along the highway warning motorists of the traffic light ahead, the defendant continued toward the line of stopped vehicles at more than 70 mph.
Barnes also said the evidence provided during trial revealed there were opiates in the defendant’s system at the time of the crash.
“And unfortunately,” the judge said, “your actions caused the death of a lovely young lady.”
He also said that while the court was not discounting the pain the defendant and his family were going through, there was another family in pain: the Park family, whose loss was a direct result of Weaver’s actions.
Barnes also addressed Kylie Park’s family, saying there was little the court could do to mitigate the pain they would continue to experience, nor could anything change the fact that they lost their daughter in the crash that day.
He said when the actions of a defendant rises to the level that Weaver’s actions did, the court must follow the recommendations set forth under Utah law. He then sentenced the defendant to serve 0-5 years in Utah State Prison.
He also recommended that Weaver be allowed to participate in any and all substance abuse treatment opportunities provided by the Department of Corrections while serving his sentence, which would begin immediately.
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