Community members throughout the Basin and beyond were deeply affected in 2016 when a young Vernal man lost his life in a car accident and now his memory is being used as part of a state safe driving campaign aimed at teens. On May 27th, 2016, 19-year-old Sandon Rylee Marshall and a friend were on their way to McCoy Flats when they were hit from behind by an inattentive driver as they were waiting to make a left hand turn. Sandon was killed instantly and his friend spent time in a coma and many weeks after that fighting for her life. The story of Sandon is among the stories of 15 teens that were lost in car accidents throughout Utah in 2016 and is featured in the 2016 Teen Memoriam that is promoted by Utah’s Zero Fatalities campaign as an extra push to remind drivers, especially the teens, to take driver safety seriously. In Sandon’s memoriam page in the campaign booklet, his family shares the following thought for all to consider. “Sometimes you do everything right behind the wheel but your life is also in the hands of other drivers on the road. Distracted or inattentive driving can change lives in an instant…Let us not forget that when we sit behind the wheel, we also affect other people’s lives for good or bad.” To view the newly posted Teen Memoriam, visit
www.ut.zerofatalities.com/don’t-drive-stupid
.
