CEDAR CITY — A man who followed another car through the streets of Cedar City before ramming it from behind and seriously injuring a woman last September has been sentenced to prison.
In 5th District Court on Monday, Quentin Kyle Redshirt, 23, was ordered to serve between one and 15 years in prison for one count of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony.
Judge Matthew L. Bell also sentenced Redshirt to 180 days in jail for DUI, a class B misdemeanor, but directed that the two terms run concurrently and both be served at Utah State Prison.
Redshirt, who was not incarcerated at the time of his court appearance on Monday, was given until 5 p.m. to report to Iron County Jail; from there, he was to be transported to the state prison.
As previously reported, on the night of Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, Redshirt, who was driving a white Chevrolet compact car, reportedly followed a silver Hyundai Sonata sedan for miles along the streets of Cedar City before crashing into it near the Southern Utah University Police station on 300 West.
Following the crash, Redshirt fled the scene on foot before being apprehended by police a few blocks away. Meanwhile, the two occupants of the Hyundai, both of whom were SUU students, told police they did not know the other driver or why he had been following them.
The female passenger in the Hyundai was initially reported as having a minor facial laceration at the scene.
However, in court on Monday, prosecutor Chase Troutner said the woman’s injuries turned out to be far more serious.
Although the woman chose not to appear in court on Monday, Troutner read aloud a written statement from her.
“The consequences of Mr. Redshirt’s choice to drink and drive on Sept. 10, 2022, have forever altered my life,” the woman’s statement said. “I will never be the same. As a result of Mr. Redshirt’s choices. I lost five of my front teeth, which has been extremely painful and traumatic. The process of restoring my mouth has been excruciating.”
In addition, the woman said she suffers from whiplash, shoulder pain and severe lower back pain requiring steroid injections. Her medical bills have exceeded $60,000, she wrote.
The injured woman also said she was unable to return to work after the crash and had to withdraw from all of her SUU classes except for one online class, mainly because she was self-conscious about her missing teeth. Although she has found another job, she continues to deal with other mental and emotional repercussions.
“After the accident, I also started seeing a therapist to help me cope with the fear I had riding in a car, let alone being able to drive,” said the woman’s statement, as read aloud by Troutner. “The fear that gripped me as I rode in the car was immense. I was afraid that someone was going to chase me down and hit me again, and then I would suffer more injuries. I was too afraid to drive for several months.”
Unfortunately, she said, the doctor told her this is something she will deal with for the rest of her life.
“I do not think any amount of sentencing can rectify the pain and suffering I have gone through and I’m still going through,” the woman added. “This has caused horrific trauma and severely disrupted my life. I do not wish this on anyone.”
The woman also said she was “really upset” that Redshirt’s choices had permanently altered her life.
“I do not want him to ever choose to drink and drive again,” she said in her statement. “He is not much older than I am and already has a criminal history. I really just want him to overcome the struggles he is having and live a substance-free and crime-free life. I have no control over that, just like I have no control over his choices on Sept. 10, 2022. Therefore, I trust the judge to do what he feels is best for sentencing.”
Troutner noted that the woman is majoring in social work.
“Her goal in life is to help people like Mr. Redshirt,” Troutner said. “She still wants to help him. She still wants him to overcome what he has done.”
Nevertheless, Troutner added: “We believe that justice demands that Mr. Redshirt serve his time in prison.”
After spending a few months in Iron County Jail following the crash, Redshirt pleaded guilty to the two charges in January, at which point two other charges — leaving the scene of an injury accident and reckless driving — were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Redshirt’s attorney Philip Wormdahl asked the court to consider giving his client a suspended prison sentence with a “zero tolerance” form of probation.
“There’s nothing that he can do at this point to go back and change when he made the choice to drink alcohol (and drive),” Wormdahl said. “Really, all he can do going forward is to make changes in a forward direction.”
Wormdahl noted that Redshirt had successfully completed three of four parts of a treatment program while he was incarcerated and would have a spot in a sober living facility with job placement if allowed to be released under such conditions.
“There’s not a lot that he can do himself to heal the physical or mental wounds that he’s caused, but maybe it will allow some healing, for those affected directly and their families, to know that he’s taking steps to improve himself,” Wormdahl told the court. “And that they’ll get some peace out of that idea that he’s is taking responsibility for his actions, and also doing things to make himself a better person and a less dangerous person.”
Given a chance to address the court directly, Redshirt stated that he was sorry.
“I truly feel remorseful for the things that I did,” he said, noting that he had woken up in jail the next morning with no recollection of what had happened.
“I take full responsibility for myself, 100% accountable,” he added. “I’m not proud of my actions.”
During his remarks before he read the victim’s statement, Troutner said it was “wholly inappropriate” to call what happened an accident.
“This was not an accident,” Troutner told the court. “This was an intentional act of random, horrific violence.”
“On that night, the victim and her boyfriend were driving. I don’t even think they ever were able to communicate where they were going at the time,” Troutner said. “They were driving along in Cedar City when the defendant came behind them. They noticed that he was following them closely.”
Troutner said that after being followed aggressively for more than 2 miles, the victims were attempting to turn into the parking lot of the SUU Police Department to seek assistance when Redshirt rammed their car from behind at a speed estimated to be more than 60 mph.
“That’s not something that happens by accident,” he said. “You have to make a series of choices that will lead to that final outcome.”
Troutner noted that Redshirt had been traveling from Arizona on his way to a job out of state.
“It probably was a well-paying job and would have been very beneficial for him,” Troutner said. “But along the way, he stopped here, he got blackout drunk and he angrily stalked in a vehicle, innocent people and injured one of them severely. He made the choice to forgo that job in favor of doing what he did.”
Troutner said it was “only by the grace of God” that the case didn’t end up as a murder case.
Just before issuing his decision, Bell addressed the defendant directly, asking him, “Who’s somebody in your life that you care very deeply about?”
“My grandparents,” Redshirt responded.
Bell then asked Redshirt to imagine if his grandparents had to experience what the injured woman is going through
“Imagine that pain on someone that you care about,” Bell said, calling it a “heartbreaking” case.
“They didn’t provoke you,” Bell added. “They didn’t do anything wrong, trying to get away. Instead, you chased them until you crashed into them at a high speed … it’s just awful.
“Whether you have any memory of the incident or not, as your attorney appropriately acknowledged, you chose to drink and chose to get behind the wheel. Someone that can do what you’ve done, in this case, just can’t be trusted in our society.
“In that moment, you intended and you did cause great harm to people that did absolutely nothing to you,” Bell said. “I’m going to impose a prison sentence. In this case, it’s warranted.”
Bell then imposed the statutory 1-15-year prison term, adding that how much time Redshirt ultimately serves in prison will be up to the Utah Board of Pardons.
Bell did not impose any additional fines or fees but did indicate that restitution would be left open. He also encouraged Redshirt to seek treatment while incarcerated.
“This is a tragic case, and my heart goes out to the victims in this case,” Bell said. “It really is not based on any sense that you don’t still need treatment. You do. The public has to be protected from someone that, especially at such a young age, drinks themselves to this point. And then while intoxicated, has the capacity to cause the kind of harm they did.”
Should he choose to appeal his sentencing, Redshirt has 30 days to file a written notice of appeal, the court added.
Shortly after Monday’s sentencing had concluded, Iron County Attorney Chad Dotson issued the following statement:
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