A Saratoga Springs police vehicle is pictured in Saratoga Springs on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. Photo credit: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — A man from Sandy, Utah has been charged in the death of a Westlake High student. According to police records, a car crash happened on May 25, 2021, at Redwood Road and Harvest Hills Boulevard.
Ammon Blake, a 16-year-old sophomore, died after a car driven by 28-year-old Daniel MacBeth, collided into Blake’s car.
Saratoga Springs police said MacBeth was arrested on Wednesday. An officer found MacBeth leaving a residence in Sandy and followed him while looking for a safe place to pull him over.
The policeman turned his lights on and the suspect took off at a high rate of speed from the intersection of 1300 East and 11400 South, in Sandy.
When MacBeth was pulled over, court documents show he was driving on a suspended license. He currently has three outstanding warrants for failure to appear in previous cases.
Court papers show MacBeth is an alcohol-restricted driver after he was convicted of impaired driving in October 2019.
The police report from the day Ammon Blake died says the 16-year-old was waiting to turn left onto Harvest Hills Boulevard. The officer said he never saw any brake lights on MacBeth’s car before he slammed into Blake’s Ford Fusion.
The Medical Examiner determined the cause of Blake’s death was blunt force trauma.
Police records show that MacBeth had been tailgating an officer in a Mercedes 500 and traveling at a high rate of speed. He passed the officer gesturing with his middle finger at the cop two times before the crash.
According to the police a crash reconstructionist determined MacBeth was going between 84 to 99 miles per hour at the time he hit Blake’s car.
MacBeth was charged with driving as an alcohol restricted driver, driving on a suspended or revoked license, driving with measurable controlled substance and manslaughter.
The police report states he has pending charges from Fillmore, Riverton and South Jordan, Utah courts.