This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 32-year-old Neola man was charged with negligent homicide Wednesday stemming from a July car accident that killed a passenger in his vehicle.
Trinity Bird was charged in 4th District Court with negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, and failure to stay in one lane, a class C misdemeanor.
According to court documents, Bird was driving his 2003 Buick west on U.S. Route 40 in Wasatch County on July 6 at about 10:30 p.m.
Bird told police he "looked away for a second" to reach for a cigarette that had fallen. Bird's car swerved to the right shoulder and hit the rear left corner of a semi-truck that had been parked in the shoulder while the driver secured his load.
Matthew Mecham was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the accident, and was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital. He died later that night.
Also injured was Ronnie Melo, who was sitting in Bird's back seat. She was also taken by medical helicopter for treatment, and survived. It's unknown if either passengers was wearing seat belts, according to court documents.
Bird was transported to Heber Valley Medical center with non-life threatening injuries.
A court date for Bird has not yet been set.