Man hit by driver asleep at the wheel in Utah thinks punishment was too lenient
By Darienne DeBrule
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OGDEN, Utah (KSTU) — Every time Edgar Guillen is in his driveway, he has anxiety.
He was hit by a vehicle while working on his car in his driveway on June 5. Police say a drowsy driver crashed into him after crossing multiple lanes of traffic. Video captured the moments when the drowsy driver drifted across lanes before hitting Guillen.
“I sat down and turned around to close the door, and boom, I got hit. I blacked out; I don’t remember after that,” Guillen recalled. “I was in the hospital for four days. Those four days were the most miserable days I ever lived.”
Guillen is still recovering from broken ribs, injured lungs, and more. He says he’s scheduled to have surgery on June 24, but without his car, getting anywhere is difficult.
“I’ve got to take the bus, and just to walk from here to the bus stop, it’s painful,” Guillen said.
Guillen said he wants more investigation into the crash factors and police response. FOX 13 News reached out to the Ogden Police Department on Saturday. They said they conducted field sobriety tests and used “Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement.” Police say investigators determined that drug and alcohol impairment was not a factor. The 22-year-old driver was released with a citation. Guillen thinks the citation wasn’t enough.
“Now with him getting a slap on the hand, he’s going to think it’s OK to fall asleep behind the wheel,” Guillen said. “I live in front of a school. What would have happened if the school had just gotten out? The dude falls asleep, and he hits a kid.”
As Guillen tries to figure out his options, he says what happened to him is an example of how one decision can change someone else’s life.
“Once you get behind that wheel, that’s your responsibility because you could change somebody’s life from one second to the next,” he said. “My life got changed from one minute to the next.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with Guillen’s medical expenses.
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