State of Utah v. Charles Errill Lavadie

Salt Lake City, Utah, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious bodily injury for taking a painkiller and subsequently crashing his truck into a home, pinning a 10-year-old beneath his vehicle.



On July 3, 2020, South Salt Lake Police were called to investigate a vehicle that crashed into a home near 3300 South and 300 East. When they arrived, the defendant's truck was entirely inside the house, with the defendant still in the driver's seat. The responding detective could hear crying from under the vehicle and saw that a 10-year-old child had been run over and was pinned under the truck. First responders to the scene determined that a technical heavy rescue extrication would be necessary to get the child out from under the truck safely. The child was successfully taken out from under the truck and taken to the hospital in critical condition with a skull fracture, bleeding in the brain, a broken femur, and a large laceration on the right side of his face because of the crash. Through the investigation, it was determined that the defendant had taken a painkiller in St George in the morning and drove up to South Salt Lake. While driving, the defendant had a syncopal event that was brought on by the painkiller and a mixture of other medications that lowered his blood pressure, resulting in the crash. A syncopal event is a medical term for passing out.

A Third District Court jury found the defendant guilty of one count of third-degree felony, negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious bodily injury. The jury found the defendant not guilty of one count of class B reckless driving.