Victim of fatal accident initially misidentified

GENOLA — A grisly accident in Genola claimed the life of a 17-year-old boy, not his 34-year-old uncle as police initially believed.

The severity of the accident plus a language barrier and incorrect personal information obtained by police meant that the initial fatality was reported as Jose Guadalupe Almanza, a man living in Genola.

However, it was Almanza's nephew, Socorro Almanza Sierra, 17, who was driving to school on 800 East Tuesday morning with three teenage girls in the back of his car when he drove through a stop sign at a five-point intersection that connects with state Route 141, police said.

A truck coming off state Route 141 hit the teen-filled car, which rolled.

"It was such a violent crash," said Santaquin Police Chief Dennis Howard, whose officers also patrol Genola. "I don't know how anyone would have survived."

Sierra was killed in the accident, and all three of his passengers were taken to hospitals.

Estephanie Ortiz, 14, died later at a hospital as a result of her injuries, Howard said. The two other young passengers are in stable condition in Salt Lake-area hospitals.

Sierra had no identification on him, had been driving his uncle's car and was even using the uncle's name at times, which is what caused much of the confusion with police, Howard said.

After police released Almanza's name, a woman came forward and pointed out the error. Officers quickly got an interpreter and went to visit the boy's father again to try to get his real name, not the name he'd been using while living with his uncle — and this time without the trauma of being at a crash site.

Howard apologized if the confusion caused any hurt or concern to the families or the community.

As far as the five-entry point intersection, city officials previously declared it a "dangerous" intersection and are working to fix it, Howard said.

Howard said one of the trouble spots was fixed this year by the state, but several others remain.

"Now with a fatality, too bad it's taken that, (the intersection) has been moved up on the priority list," Howard said.

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