A fatal accident occurred Thursday night when Joshua Perry was struck by a vehicle in a Sandy intersection. According to KUTV, Perry was walking in a crosswalk near the intersection of 1000 East and 11000 South. After initially being taken to a local hospital in critical condition, he succumbed to his injuries.
The driver, identified by the Sandy Police Department as Zoe Carisa Blankenstein, remained at the scene. Walking with slurred speech and an alcoholic odor on her breath, arresting officers noted these signs of potential intoxication. Still, she was arrested and booked into Salt Lake County Jail on DUI charges, which "now faces charges of automobile homicide," Mike Olsen, a spokesperson for the department, told KSL NewsRadio.
Investigations into the exact circumstances are ongoing, Sgt. Michael Olsen revealed that the intersection was closed temporarily after the incident, which took place near Alta High School. Despite initially refusing to perform a field sobriety test and submit a blood sample, Blankenstein consented later to the blood draw.
As the Sandy community mourns the loss, FOX 13 News shared on social media that Perry's death follows the tragic event from Thursday. "The man hit by a vehicle while walking in a Sandy crosswalk... has died from his injuries," described in a post that pointed to the arrest made by Sandy Police for automobile homicide.
