Mother says daughter just tried to help boy who died

VERNAL — The mother of an Orem woman facing charges in the alcohol-related death of a Vernal teen says her daughter may have made poor choices, but her actions weren't criminal.

Candice Collard, 23, is charged with child abuse homicide, accused by Uintah County prosecutors of being criminally negligent in the death of Jess "Micade" Horrocks. Collard is also facing an alternative charge of abuse or neglect of a disabled child.

Jan Collard believes the decision to file charges against her daughter is "pushing it a little bit far."

"It would be interesting to know how many people involved are related to each other in this small community and if the easiest place to lay blame is with the outsider from Utah County," she said.

The charges against Candice Collard stem from an April 13 incident where a group of teens, including Horrocks, gained access to liquor stored in the locked office of a Vernal restaurant.

According to police, Horrocks consumed so much alcohol that he lost consciousness, prompting one of his friends to call his mother, who was out of town and called Candice Collard for help.

Police said when Collard arrived, she helped the teens load an incapacitated Horrocks into her car. Then she allegedly drove him to the home she was staying at in Jensen and put him in a room. Another person at the home later discovered that Horrocks wasn't breathing and called 911.

The 14-year-old was hospitalized and was later removed from life support after doctors told his parents he was brain dead and would not regain consciousness.

Jan Collard conceded that her daughter made "a poor judgment call" when she chose not to take Horrocks to nearby Ashley Regional Medical Center or contact law enforcement after picking him up. But the mother also said that most people without medical training wouldn't know when someone had consumed enough alcohol to kill them or just make them miserable the following day.

"Unless you're a doctor taking vital signs, how do you know if someone is drunk and passed out and will wake up in the morning with a helluva headache or if they've consumed so much alcohol that they're going to die?" Jan Collard said. "I can't tell you how old I was before I knew that you could really drink yourself to death.

"Basically, if she'd left him to die in the freaking parking lot she wouldn't be charged with homicide," the mother added. "As a parent, though, it would make me sick to think that my daughter would have left him in the parking lot."