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The dump truck driver involved in an accident that killed a woman last year has been indicted on multiple charges.
Shane Newcume, 48, has been indicted on one count of automobile homicide, a second-degree felony, one count of driving without a commercial license, a class C misdemeanor, one count of operating a vehicle without license or registration, a class C misdemeanor, and a speeding infraction.
Just after noon on Nov. 16, 2021, Draper Police Officers were dispatched to an accident at 14550 South Bangerter Parkway, in the Salt Lake County side of the city. The officers found the Peterbilt dump truck driven by Newcume on its side blocking both southbound lanes, and a white Toyota 4Runner SUV that had struck a guard rail and rolled to the bottom of the hill.
According to charging documents, witnesses of the accident stated that Newcume had blared his horn as he went through the intersection of Traverse Point and Highland. He then tipped the dump truck going around a curve, striking the 4Runner. The driver of the 4Runner was pronounced dead on the scene.
According to Newcume, he was on his fourth trip down the hill when he discovered his brakes had stopped working.
“Newcume stated that he went around traffic at the intersection of Traverse Ridge Road and Manilla Driver, and again at the intersection of Traverse Ridge Road and Highland Drive, blaring his horn as he went through each intersection,” reads the charging documents. “Newcume stated that he knew he wouldn’t make the turn at Bangerter Parkway, so he decided to lay the truck on its side by yanking the wheel to the right.”
Newcume stated that the company he was driving for had put new brakes, tires, an air compressor and air lines on the truck the day before. However, investigators concluded this was not the cause of the accident.
“Inspection of the dump truck conducted after the accident found that brake pads on two axels were not making contact with the drum, and the brake hose was worn and leaking, but neither issue was the cause of the accident,” reads the charging documents. “Rather, driver error and improper mountain driving technique caused the brakes to overheat and fail.”
While inspecting the dump truck, officers smelled “burnt marijuana” coming from inside the cab. Toxicology reports found that Newcume had 3 ng/ml of THC and 23 ng/ml of THC-COOH, a major metabolite of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, in his system at the time of the accident.
According to charging documents, Newcume stated that he had been driving trucks for 30 years prior to the accident, and had just started driving for a company in Utah two weeks earlier.
Officers confirmed that Newcume did not have a valid CDL license at the time of the accident, and his driver’s license had been suspended.