ST. GEORGE — A 42-year-old Sandy woman has been charged with three counts of manslaughter after a Millard County crash killed three, and left two critically injured children that were later flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in June.
Jennifer Diamond was charged Aug. 1 in 4th District Court in Filmore with three counts of second-degree felony manslaughter, one count of second-degree aggravated assault and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor.
The charges stem from a crash reported June 19 on U.S. Route 50 in Millard County where a husband and wife, 47-year-old Tyrone Bova and Holly Bova, 43, were killed instantly.
The couples’ 11-year-old son, Haden Bova, died while en route to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, while Tyler Bova, 17, was flown to the same hospital in extremely critical condition.
Both boys were sitting in the back seat of the passenger car when the crash occurred.
Additionally, a 9-year-old passenger in Diamond’s vehicle suffered severe injuries in the crash and was transported to Primary Children’s in critical condition.
Read more: Millard County head-on crash kills 3, critically injures 2 children
Diamond, who was driving a Porsche Cayenne at the time, was passing a vehicle on U.S. 50 and instead of returning to her lane of travel, remained in the passing land and struck the Bovas’ Ford Fusion head-on, which sent the Ford shooting backward and flipped the Porsche before both vehicles caught fire, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
In June investigators were looking at speed and distraction as a possible cause of the crash, listing that dogs riding in the Porsche may have distracted Diamond.
UHP Sgt. Nick Street said Tuesday that they cannot comment on the details of the investigation due to charges being filed in the case.
Days after the initial crash story published June 21, emails sent from a resident in Archdale, North Carolina, were received by St. George News requesting updates on both children’s conditions.
The writer, who only provided her first name, Sharon, said she lives about “17 minutes from the Bova home,” and asked if there was “any improvement of the 17-year-old and the 9-year-old in the Porsche.”
In a subsequent email she said that relatives and friends of the Bova family held a fundraiser on July 13, and that “the community is coming together to help in every way possible.”
A tribute to Tyler Bova was featured during a prayer service held June 20 at Crossover Community Church in Archdale, where “a young boy in our community lost a mother, father and brother while he himself is in critical condition,” Eric King said in the announcement.
Diamond is scheduled to make an initial appearance in Millard County Aug. 29 at 8:30 a.m. in 4th District Court.
This report is based on statements from police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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She must’ve been intoxicated. Normally, these are not prosecuted in UT and are considered “no fault” accidents, with the only real exception being when the driver was impaired by substance.