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A Texas man who allegedly caused a triple-fatal car accident near Moab last year has been ordered to stand trial on homicide charges.
David Lewis, 28, of Saginaw, Texas, is charged in 7th District Court with three counts of manslaughter, a second-degree felony. If convicted, each count carries a potential prison sentence of 15 years.
On the afternoon of Aug. 16, Juan Vidales, 54, Stephanie Vidales, 28, both of Saginaw, Texas, and 69-year-old Arthur Loewen, of Perry, Ga., died in the crash on State Road 191 south of Moab.
The Vidaleses were passengers in a southbound Nissan Maxima driven by Lewis, who tried to pass a semitrailer and collided with an oncoming Hyundai before it spun out of control and was struck by a Cadillac DTS in the northbound lane.
Juan Vidales was in the front passenger seat and was killed on impact, the Utah Highway Patrol said in a news release. Stephanie Vidales was in a rear passenger seat and was ejected from the car.
Ten-year-old Lillian Vidales, also of Saginaw, Texas, was ejected and injured. She was taken to San Juan Hospital in Monticello. Lewis was admitted to the same hospital.
Loewen was the front passenger in the Cadillac and was also killed upon impact, the UHP said.
The occupants of the Hyundai suffered minor injuries.
"He was reckless," said San Juan County Attorney Craig Halls has said of Lewis' behavior. "What he was doing was reckless and he should have recognized his behavior was out of line."
A two-day trial is set to begin July 30 in Monticello before Judge Lyle Anderson.