RICHFIELD, Sevier County — Charges have been filed in a crash that left a Sevier County sheriff's sergeant dead last year.
Corbin Mander, 19, is facing charges of negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, in connection with the April 29, 2010, death of Sevier County Sheriff's Sgt. Franco Aguilar.
Aguilar, who turned 36 just days before he was killed, was responding to a traffic accident on I-70 on the Fish Creek Bridge, where a vehicle driven by a woman from Grand Junction, Colo., slid on the icy road into a concrete barrier.
While assisting the woman in that accident, a Chevrolet Suburban with three occupants inside, including the then-18-year-old Mander from Saratoga Springs, also lost control on the slick road at the same spot and crashed head-on into the first vehicle, a Toyota Camry.
The Suburban hit the car and pushed it into Aguilar, who was then thrown off the bridge and fell 103 feet to his death.
Originally police were unsure whether Aguilar was hit and thrown or if he jumped to get out of the way, but after studying tire marks and car paint remnants on Aguilar's clothes, they concluded he was pushed off after being hit by the Camry.
Mander is facing additional charges of driving too fast for conditions and failing to reduce speed when approaching an emergency vehicle, both class C misdemeanors.
Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said Mander was driving around 76 mph when he struck the car, which was six miles over the speed limit.
"The accident was preventable," he said. "(Mander) made bad choices. He totally ignored all the warning signs."
He said those in his office were glad to hear charges were filed — almost one year to the day since Aguilar was killed.
He attributed to the delay in filing charges to Sevier County Attorney Dale Eyre wanting to wait until he could get "the emotion out of it."
"He works so close with us officers, the emotions can get in there and you can't be objective about it," he said.
Mander is scheduled for an initial appearance in 6th District Court on April 5.
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