Plea deal likely in fatal DUI case

A plea deal may be in the works in the case of a 17-year-old male who is accused of driving while intoxicated, slamming into another car and killing a mom, the baby she was carrying, and two other children.

"We're in negotiations with the state," Richard Van Wagoner, the youth's lawyer, told the Deseret Morning News.

A pretrial hearing set for Monday has been continued until June 4.

"The state made an offer, we have not accepted it, and we had hoped to resolve it. We asked for another pretrial conference," Van Wagoner said.

In addition, he said, prosecutors were concerned that surviving victims and other family members were not present in the courtroom Monday. In juvenile court, it is possible to enter into a plea agreement and be sentenced at the same hearing. That is also possible in adult court, but occurs far less often.

Victims of crimes in Utah have the right, if they choose to exercise it, to address the court and describe how a crime has affected their lives.

The crash occurred Feb. 9 at 2000 East near 2500 South. Police said the teenager's car rammed into the vehicle carrying the family.

The impact killed Michelle Williams, 41, who was seven months pregnant with a baby boy; her son Ben, 11; and daughter Anna, 9.

The father, Christopher Williams, survived, as did his son Sam, 6, although both were injured. Another son, Michael, 14, was not with the family at the time.

Christopher Williams has publicly forgiven the youth who was driving. The young man's blood alcohol content was found to be 0.15, which is twice the legal limit for an adult in Utah. For minors, state law imposes a standard of "not a drop" of liquor.

Third District Judge Andrew Valdez heard testimony and arguments in the case at a daylong hearing May 10 and ruled that the young man should stand trial in juvenile court rather than be certified into adult court.

The 17-year-old faces four counts of second-degree felony automobile homicide; third-degree felony DUI; and another count of DUI and one count of failure to stop at the scene of an accident, both class A misdemeanors.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com