This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
A Utah man died Sunday morning after his vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with a pickup truck hauling a horse trailer near Eagle Mountain.
Utah County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Spencer Cannon said Jimmy Ren Pearson, 42, was eastbound on State Road 73 about four miles east of Cedar Fork about 7:30 a.m. when motorists reported seeing him repeatedly swerve from one side of the roadway to the other.
The final swerve sent him into the path of an oncoming pickup that was pulling a trailer with two horses. The two collided nearly head on, Cannon said.
The impact tore the car in half and compacted it. Pearson was partially ejected and died at the scene, Cannon said. One horse also was killed.
A 16-year-old passenger in the pickup was transported to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center for treatment. Both she and the pickup's driver, who declined medical treatment, were wearing seat belts. The teen was expected to recover.
The second horse in the trailer suffered minor injuries.
An autopsy has been ordered and a toxicology test will be performed to see if Pearson was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, Cannon said.
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