Sheriff: Hours after DUI arrest, Utah driver causes 5

LOCAL NEWS

Aug 31, 2023, 10:36 AM | Updated: 12:17 pm

BY ANDREW ADAMS

KSLTV.com

EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah —Deputies said a driver who caused a head-on collision and was suspected of impairment Wednesday afternoon was arrested less than 12 hours earlier on suspicion of DUI in a separate matter.

According to Utah County Sheriff’s deputies, 40-year-old James Ross Dumas was heading eastbound in the outside lane on state Route 73 near mile marker 34 at around 1:10 p.m., when his car drifted into the inside lane, then the median and then into oncoming traffic where it struck another vehicle head-on.

At least two cameras on commercial vehicles captured video of the collision, which the sheriff’s office shared with KSL 5 Wednesday evening.

Sgt. Spencer Cannon said five total vehicles saw damage in the crash, but Dumas suffered the most significant injuries and was airlifted to the hospital.

Deputies said they detected the odor of alcohol on Dumas’ breath and suspect the man was driving under the influence at the time. Detectives, according to Cannon, secured a blood-draw warrant for Dumas and those results were pending as of late Wednesday.

“This guy (was) very fortunate somebody didn’t die in this crash — him, not to say the least of, is one who could have died,” Cannon said. “He was the most seriously injured, but it’s entirely possible others could have been more seriously injured or even killed in a crash like this.”

Cannon said Dumas had only bailed out of jail less than seven hours earlier when the crash happened.

According to Cannon, deputies responded to an unrelated incident at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning in Eagle Mountain in which they arrested Dumas on suspicion of DUI as well as alleged domestic violence-related offenses.

Dumas also had DUI convictions in 2003 and 2004, according to court records.

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