Texting while behind the wheel was being blamed Monday for a crash that killed a Vernal teenager.

Vernal police said 15-year-old Tommy Clark and his friend were walking on the shoulder of 500 West at about 9 p.m. Sunday when a Dodge pickup driven by Jeffery Bascom, 28, of Jensen, drifted off the road and hit Clark.

Police said that Bascom was allegedly texting at the time.

Clark was transported to a local hospital and then flown by helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center in extremely critical condition, officers said. He died Monday afternoon.

The investigation into the incident continued, Assistant Chief Keith Campbell said. He said the case would be presented to the Uintah County Attorney's Office for review and said Bascom could potentially face a second-degree felony charge of automobile homicide while operating an electronic device.

There was no sidewalk where the crash occurred, Campbell said.

Janelle Stecklein