News staffer critical, another serious

Best friends at work and at play, Chuck Wing and Gary McKellar are used to looking out for each other.

One of the first things Wing asked after waking up in the ICU was if McKellar was OK. Both Deseret Morning News staffers suffered crushing injuries Tuesday when an out-of-control Jeep pinned them against a wall.

A longtime photographer, Wing needed to know if his buddy was going to be all right. But hospital restrictions and Wing's condition prevented him from finding out for himself. So a nurse at LDS Hospital took pictures of both men on his camera phone Tuesday night and showed them to both ICU patients, said Lisa Wing Beardslee, Wing's sister.

Wing remains in serious condition, while his friend McKellar is in critical condition at LDS Hospital.

"I can't imagine they'll sit still for very long," said Kristy Swapp, a friend of the McKellar family. "I'm sure they're very anxious to get back (to work)."

As Wing and McKellar recover, investigators are scrambling to piece together the accident. It could be weeks before investigators figure out exactly what happened Tuesday morning when a car struck three Deseret Morning News employees, said Salt Lake police spokesman Dwayne Baird.

Investigators must answer many questions before deciding whether to file charges, Baird said. Was it human error or a vehicle malfunction that caused the 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee to jump the sidewalk and pin the two friends to a wall?

"It's probably one of the most complicated accidents I've ever seen," said Baird, who spent nearly four years working on an accident reconstruction team.

Deseret Morning News staffers Wing, McKellar, Keith Johnson and Mark Reece were walking on a sidewalk along tiny Regent Street on Tuesday for a midmorning break. Wing and Johnson are News photographers; McKellar and Reece work for the paper's New Media department.

Suddenly an out-of-control SUV jumped the curb, knocking down a parking meter and pinning Wing and McKellar to a parking garage wall. Both suffered crushed legs, and Wing later had his leg amputated above the knee.

After the accident, driver Hossein K. Sepehri-Nik, 75, seemed to be in shock, Reece said. He added Sepehri-Nik tried to help by soliciting aid to move the vehicle.

"He did whatever he could do," Reece said Wednesday.

The SUV was "revving pretty hard" before someone turned off the ignition, Reece said. Johnson, Reece and other bystanders tried to move the Jeep. Then Johnson finally reached inside the Jeep and started the engine, Reece said.