Crash claims mom, 2 children

MURRAY — A mother and two children from Cedar Hills, Utah County, were killed early Sunday when their car was struck by a pickup truck that police said ran a red light.

Police say the truck's 24-year-old driver was intoxicated.

Cheryl L. Ceran, 47, and her 15-year-old son, Ian Ceran, were pronounced dead at the scene of the 2:24 a.m. crash, at the intersection of 5400 South and 700 West, said Murray Police Sgt. Paul Christiansen.

Ceran's 7-year-old daughter, Julinna Ceran, was flown by helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center, where she later died.

Three members of the Ceran family survived the collision. The husband, 45-year-old Gary J. Ceran, sustained minor injuries. The couple's 12-year-old son, Caleb Ceran, and 18-year-old daughter, Clarissa Ceran, also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

A friend said the family had just stopped at Wal-Mart for some late-night Christmas shopping after attending the cast party for the Hale Centre Theatre's production of "A Christmas Carol" in West Valley City. Gary Ceran played the role of Bob Cratchit in the production, and both Caleb and Clarissa had smaller roles in the play.

"It has completely demolished everyone's Christmas," Sally Dietlein, Hale Centre Theatre executive producer, told the Deseret Morning News Sunday. "The real tough part of this is, before the events of last night, they had already lost five children to various illnesses, so this is something that is almost more than you can even think is possible. So from 11 (in the family), there are now only three.

"The understanding the (surviving) kids tend to have is that the mother was needed to take care of the other children in heaven."

Cheryl Ceran was driving the family's passenger car eastbound on 5400 South. They were about a half mile from the entrance to southbound I-15, which would take them home to Cedar Hills. The pickup truck was headed northbound on 700 West when it ran the red light and hit the Mercury, Christiansen said.

The driver of the 1997 pickup, Carlos Rodolfo Prieto, 24, was not seriously hurt.

Christiansen said he was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on three felony counts of vehicular homicide and was expected to be also charged with three misdemeanors — driving under the influence, driving without a license and running a red light.

Murray police detective Kenny Bass said Prieto has no known criminal record. His place of residence was unknown at press time Sunday night.

Dietlein said she was told the three family members who died were sitting in the front seat and the three survivors were in the back seat.