This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Prosecutors dropped charges against an 83-year-old Sandy man accused of causing the death of a man working on a storm drain in Draper when they learned of the defendant's death late last month.
John P. Amos died in his home on Feb. 19, according to an obituary published in The Tribune. He would have turned 84 this year.
According to court documents, Amos drove his car into 52-year-old Thayne Hansen in a parking lot near 150 E. 11950 South on April 18, 2012.
Police found Hansen slumped inside the storm drain in which he had been working with his face submerged in water. He was pronounced dead shortly after he was taken to the hospital.
At the time, officers said Amos had used a handicap ramp, which is not meant for vehicles, as a shortcut to get into the parking lot and did not see Hansen working in the hole.
He was charged with negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.
Amos had been scheduled to appear in court last Wednesday for a preliminary hearing, at which the prosecution would have laid out evidence supporting their case.
The victim's family also filed a wrongful death suit against Amos alleging negligence and seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
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