Woman charged with negligent homicide stemming from 2007 car accident

A Salt Lake City woman was charged Wednesday with negligent homicide in connection with a July 2007 incident in which police say an SUV she was driving hit and killed a motorcyclist.

Salt Lake City prosecutors charged Angelica Lopez, 25, with negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor.

According to the charges, the accident happened on the afternoon of July 28, 2007, when Lopez was driving a 1998 Ford Explorer westbound, ran a red light at 700 East and 800 South and collided with a motorcyclist.

"The motorcycle was turning left on a green light in the intersection across the Explorer's path," the charges said. "The motorcycle was operated by Jerry B. Layne, 65, who was thrown from the motorcycle and experienced traumatic injuries caused by the impact."

Layne died as a result of his injuries, according to the charges.

When Lopez exited her vehicle after the crash, she began exclaiming, "My brakes wouldn't work. My brakes wouldn't work," the charges said.

Lopez told police she was having problems with her brakes, and a friend of hers had worked on the brakes two weeks before the incident, but the work had not corrected the problem, according to the charges. She complained to the man who did the work, who told her that he would have to work on the vehicle again, the charges said.

Lopez had been unable to take the vehicle to the man for repairs, according to the charges.

—Ethan Thomas