A Salt Lake City man is facing 12 criminal charges after Utah Highway Patrol troopers say he drove the wrong way on State Route 248 near Round Valley Drive, slammed head-on into another vehicle, then fled into a nearby field with a passenger. Jonathan Casimiro Abarca-Rodriguez, 26, allegedly registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.277 percent, more than five times the legal limit, after the crash near Park City that left multiple people injured.
According to charging documents cited by KSL News, the crash happened at about 9:30 p.m. on August 22 when Abarca-Rodriguez drove eastbound in the westbound lanes of SR-248 and struck another vehicle head-on. He was formally charged Thursday in Summit County's 3rd District Court. Troopers found him lying in a field near the crash site along with a passenger from his vehicle, which carried two occupants in addition to him.
The vehicle he struck, a Subaru, carried three occupants. Its driver suffered substantial bodily injury while the two passengers sustained minor injuries, according to initial booking records reported by KSL. All of the crash occupants were injured in the collision, though the extent of their ongoing treatment remains an open question.
A Blood-Alcohol Reading Far Beyond the Legal Limit
Abarca-Rodriguez told investigators he had drunk six to seven beers before getting behind the wheel, per the same KSL report. His measured blood-alcohol level of 0.277 percent stands in stark contrast to Utah's blood-alcohol threshold, which has been the strictest in the country since House Bill 155 took effect in December 2018, making Utah the first state to lower its legal limit from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent, according to the Utah Highway Safety Office.
That stricter threshold appears to be paying off statewide. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that alcohol-related crash fatalities in Utah dropped significantly more than in its six neighboring states after the 0.05 percent limit took effect, based on an evaluation of national fatal crash data from 2013 to 2023.
Compounding the allegations against him, Abarca-Rodriguez was already legally barred from driving with any detectable alcohol in his system at all. He was previously convicted of DUI in Murray Justice Court in 2025 and was classified as an alcohol-restricted driver, a status defined under Utah Code § 41-6a-530 as prohibiting any measurable or detectable amount of alcohol for drivers with prior DUI convictions or license suspensions.
No Interlock Device Despite Legal Requirement
Abarca-Rodriguez was also required to have an ignition interlock device installed in his car because of that prior conviction, but troopers allege he had none. Utah Code § 41-6a-518 mandates the devices, which require a clean breathalyzer test before a vehicle's engine will start, specifically to prevent repeat impaired driving.
Troopers also allege multiple open containers of alcohol were found in his vehicle. Beyond the alcohol-related allegations, state troopers investigated Abarca-Rodriguez for operating a vehicle without ever having obtained a driver's license, along with suspected reckless driving and passing in a no-passing zone, according to KSL's reporting on the booking records.
Twelve Counts Carry Steep Potential Penalties
In total, Abarca-Rodriguez faces 12 charges: a count of being an alcohol-restricted driver, four counts of leaving the scene of an accident with serious injury, four counts of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in injury, a count of not having an interlock device in his car, a count of having an open container of alcohol in his car, and a count of failing to stay on the right side of the road.
The four counts of leaving the scene of an accident with serious injury are third-degree felonies in Utah, each carrying a potential prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $5,000, according to Utah defense attorney Rudy Bautista. The four counts of negligent operation resulting in injury are Class A misdemeanors, Utah's highest misdemeanor classification, each punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 under Utah Code § 76-3-203, per the Utah Criminal Defense Lawyers.
A Corridor Already Under Scrutiny
The crash site sits along a stretch of SR-248 that serves as the primary route to Intermountain Health's Park City Hospital via Round Valley Drive, a corridor that connects major regional roadways directly to emergency medical services. It is also a stretch state transportation planners have flagged for growing strain: a Utah Department of Transportation corridor study projected that the US-40 and SR-248 interchange near Round Valley Drive will exceed traffic capacity within 5 to 15 years, prompting plans for a new frontage road.
The stretch has drawn safety concerns before. Hoodline previously reported on a crash on SR-248 in November 2024 in which a vehicle veered into oncoming traffic, critically injuring one person and hospitalizing two others. UDOT has also held public meetings on corridor safety and traffic studies along SR-248 and US-40 as development in Summit County continues to push more vehicles onto the highway.
Court proceedings against Abarca-Rodriguez are pending in Summit County's 3rd District Court, and it remains unclear whether the Utah Driver License Division will pursue additional administrative penalties tied to his alcohol-restricted status. The updated medical conditions of the occupants in both vehicles have not been publicly detailed.
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