This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 31-year-old Salt Lake City man has been sentenced to prison for driving drunk and trying to photograph the sunset when his SUV rear-ended a car last summer, causing the death of one of the car's passengers.
Carter Tyler Davern Foulger told police he swerved into the rear of the Volkswagon Golf while trying to take a picture of the sunset from Wasatch Boulevard on the night of May 30, Cottonwood Heights police have said.
The three occupants of the Volkswagen also were interested in the sunset. When the crash occurred, the car — with hazard lights flashing — was stopped in the center lane of the road, preparing to pull over so the occupants could watch the sunset, according to charges filed in 3rd District Court.
Killed was Janet Etheredge, 59, who was sitting in the car's back seat. The driver and another passenger in the car suffered broken bones and other injuries.
Foulger was initially charged with second-degree felony automobile homicide and two counts of third-degree felony driving under the influence.
He pleaded guilty in December to a lesser third-degree felony count of auto homicide, as well as the two DUI counts, each punishable by up to five years in prison.
On Monday, Judge Royal Hansen ordered two of the counts to run consecutively, for a sentence of zero to 10 years.
The crash occurred at 9:21 p.m. at 6800 S. Wasatch Blvd. (3550 East), when Foulger's northbound Ford Explorer collided with the car.
Witnesses told police that Foulger was traveling in excess of the posted 50 mph speed limit at the time of the crash, charges state. Foulger told police he had consumed three to four beers and two to three shots of liquor during the evening. A Breathalyzer test showed he had a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit of 0.08 percent, charges state.