He almost made it through without crying.
Bill Wenzel put his arm around Robert Skankey as the two men addressed reporters on Wednesday about the Monday evening crash in Herriman that took the life of their 5-month-old granddaughter Alice Skankey.
Robert Skankey fought back tears has he explained to news reporters how amazed he was that Alice’s parents, Bryce and Tonya Skankey, and her 2-year-old sister, Yuki, had come away from the crash without permanent physical injury — yet Alice had died.
“None of us have had to deal with this before,” Skankey said.
The family was on their way to the grocery store after going out to dinner Monday evening when they came to a stop at Mountain View Corridor (about 4800 West) on Rosecrest Road (about 14400 South). When the light turned green, they entered the intersection and were hit by a pickup truck.
“And that was it,” Skankey said.
The driver of the pickup truck — later found to be a 26-year-old man — had been reported as speeding and driving recklessly two minutes before the 7:18 p.m. crash.
The pickup truck broadsided the Skankey’s minivan and also hit another pickup truck, both of which were crossing the intersection, according to Unified police Lt. Brian Lohrke. The crash remained under investigation Wednesday.
The pickup truck also crashed into another pickup truck. Between the three vehicles, six people were injured, two with life-threatening injuries.
The surviving Skankey family members were released from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
“I feel happy that they’re alive, mad that it had to happen,” Skankey said. “I then become sad that we lost our granddaughter and their daughter. And then I rotate around to, but I’m so happy that they’re alive.
“It’s just that constant, circular emotional rollercoaster.”
(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Robert Skankey, left, is consoled by Bill Wenzel as they talk with the media following a car crash in Herriman that killed their 5-month old granddaughter and injured six others. Skankey and Wenzel are the fathers of the child's parents. The family members addressed the media from the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday April 11, 2018.
“I almost made it through without crying,” Skankey said at that point, as Wenzel, Tonya Skankey’s father, put his arm on his shoulder.
Alice had just reached the responsive phase in her development, Robert Skankey said. She’d started reacting when they spoke to her and was getting more mobile.
The girl was named after Robert Skankey’s mother and Wenzel’s grandmother, the two men said.
“I like to think that they’re all together right now,” Robert Skankey said.
Meanwhile, an online fundraiser had raised more than $23,000 for the family’s funeral and medical expenses by Wednesday afternoon.
“Bryce and Tonya would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support for them and their family in this tragedy,” Robert Skankey said. “It is a testament to the inherent goodness and civility of the community in what would otherwise be considered a very challenging and divisive time.”
The family also realizes “they are not the only ones affected by this tragedy,” Robert Skankey added. “There are other victims who can use the support of the community and it is their wish that they receive as much support as they are receiving and they have received.”
And they “reserve judgement on the person responsible for the accident,” he continued.
The driver of the truck was in serious condition Wednesday. His passenger, a 24-year-old woman, suffered initially life-threatening injuries but had been upgraded to serious condition.
The 34-year-old male driver of the other pickup truck that was hit also suffered life-threatening injuries, but he had been upgraded to fair condition.
A police officer is stationed outside the 26-year-old pickup truck driver’s hospital room. The man will be taken into Adult Probation & Parole custody, as he was on probation at the time of Monday night’s crash, according to Unified police.
The 26-year-old man had been convicted in 2012 of second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property and third-degree felony attempted theft by receiving stolen property.
In 2016, he was convicted of class B misdemeanor possession or use of a controlled substance and class C misdemeanor giving false personal identity to a peace officer. In that case, a $2,500 warrant was issued for him in February after he failed to appear in court.