An eastern Utah man faces charges after allegedly texting and driving when he hit and killed teenager in Vernal.
Charges have been filed against 28-year-old Jensen resident Jeffery Bascom after the deadly crash the night of Sept. 2.
Vernal police say a 15-year-old Tommy Clark was walking alongside the road with a friend about 9 p.m. when Bascom’s pickup truck drifted to the side and hit the teen. Clark was taken to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries the next day.
Bascom faces felony charges of automobile homicide involving use of a cellphone while driving, and obstruction of justice.
Bascom’s attorney, Loni Deland, wasn’t immediately available for comment Thursday morning.
Copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Nvidia-Backed Fireworks AI Notifies Customers of Its Second Hack in Weeks
Georgia, Florida Insurers Facing New Scrutiny, Regulations After Election
Learjet May Have Broken Up Before Fatal Florida Crash, NTSB Says
Allstate’s AI Ecosystem to Include a Personal Agentic Assistant for Customers 

