Nearly two years after longtime Salt Lake Bees broadcaster Steve Klauke was struck and killed in a Sandy crosswalk, a Salt Lake County jury has found the driver guilty of negligent homicide. Klauke, 69, was hit on June 10, 2024, while walking with the signal, and his sudden death stunned Utah's baseball community.
Verdict And What Comes Next
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced the guilty verdict on May 29, after jurors convicted driver Douglas Richard Milne of negligent homicide. Gill said, "We appreciate that the jury agreed with our argument that the defendant’s negligence while driving caused the death of a beloved member of our community," according to KUTV.
During the trial, prosecutors leaned on witness accounts and video footage that showed Klauke had the walk signal and that the driver of the pickup did not brake before turning. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed the negligent homicide charge on Nov. 12, 2024. Sentencing is set for Aug. 27, which means the case heads back to the 3rd District Court later this year.
Remembering Klauke
Klauke’s voice was practically the soundtrack of summer in Utah. Over 29 seasons with the Bees, he called 4,181 games and became a familiar presence to generations of fans, according to an obituary in The Salt Lake Tribune and funeral-home records at Larkin Mortuary.
Larkin Mortuary’s notice notes that Klauke was a three-time Utah Sportscaster of the Year and that a celebration of life was held on June 17, 2024. Colleagues and listeners have remembered his vivid play-by-play work and the way his broadcasts became a steady ritual for baseball fans across the state.
What Negligent Homicide Means In Utah
Under Utah’s criminal code, negligent homicide is defined as causing someone’s death while acting with criminal negligence and is classified as a class A misdemeanor, according to Utah Code. When that death happens in a driving situation, the statute also directs that a driver’s license be revoked.
Guidance from Utah Courts notes that class A misdemeanors in the state can carry up to 364 days in jail, along with financial penalties. So while the conviction is not a felony, it still carries both criminal and administrative consequences.
Community And The Road Ahead
The District Attorney’s Office has acknowledged that no verdict can undo the loss of a beloved broadcaster. Prosecutors say they hope the conviction offers Klauke’s family at least some measure of accountability as the legal process moves into its final phase.
With sentencing slated for late August, the focus now shifts to how the court will apply Utah’s penalties and the required license revocation in a case that has already left a lasting mark on local sports and on the community that grew up listening to Steve Klauke at the ballpark and on the radio.
