Driver charged with killing man working in Draper storm drain

An 83-year-old Sandy man is due in court later this month for allegedly causing the death of a man working in a storm drain at a Draper shopping center last spring.

John P. Amos is charged in 3rd District Court with one count of negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor, for driving his car into 52-year-old Thayne Hansen in a parking lot near 150 E. 11950 South.

Shortly after 5 p.m. on April 18, police found Thayne, of Ogden, slumped inside a storm drain, with his face submerged in water, at the Draper Spectrum shopping center. Hansen was pronounced dead shortly after he was taken to a hospital.

Officers said at the time that Amos used a handicap ramp, which is not meant for vehicles, as a shortcut to get into the parking lot, and that he did not see Hansen working in the hole.

Charging documents say Amos intentionally left the roadway on 150 East, drove over a sidewalk, down an embankment and over the storm drain where Hansen was working.

A summons has been issued ordering Amos to appear on Nov. 29 before Judge James Blanch.

Negligent homicide is punishable by up to a year in jail.

Meanwhile, the victim's family has filed a wrongful death suit against Amos alleging negligence and seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

shunt@sltrib.com