A Bluffdale man has been charged with criminal homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol after a multicar collision that killed two people.
On Tuesday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper responded to a crash in the southbound lanes of Interstate 15 in Kaysville. According to the UHP, a catering truck lost its load of canvas bags, which spread across the highway and brought traffic to a stop. Myron Millsap Barlow, 38 of Bluffdale, told the trooper he saw traffic slowing in front of him and collided with the rear of another vehicle.
Two people in that vehicle — Stephen Lewis Cotler of Healdsburg, Calif., and Ariana Elise Cotler of North Salt Lake — were killed, and two others were hospitalized. The occupant of another vehicle was treated at a hospital and released.
According to the UHP trooper, Barlow smelled of alcohol and was “having difficulty” following instructions. Barlow agreed to a field sobriety test and “exhibited multiple clues indicating impairment.” He was arrested and given an Intoxilyzer test, which registered .146 — nearly three times the legal limit of .05.
Other troopers reported there was an open container of alcohol in Barlow’s vehicle.
Barlow was booked into the Davis County jail and released. He then approached UHP troopers and agreed to be interviewed, according to the charges. Barlow said he drank alcohol from late Monday through early Tuesday, then drove to Utah from Oregon.
Barlow told troopers he stopped in Mountain Home, Ore., and Tremonton and drank alcohol both times. According to the charges, he said he was “having thoughts of self harm” and asked to be returned to jail.
Barlow has been charged in 2nd District Court with two counts of automobile homicide and three counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, third-degree felonies; and one count of having an open container in a vehicle, a class C misdemeanor. He is being held without bail in the Davis County jail.
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