ST. GEORGE — The five-day jury trial is underway for the driver who reportedly struck and killed two cyclists during an annual ride in Washington County on April 9, 2022.

Defendant Julie Ann Budge, 48, is facing two second-degree felony counts of automobile homicide, criminal negligence – DUI of alcohol/drugs, as well as two third-degree felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death.

Her trial opened Monday morning before District Judge Donald J. Eyre Jr., a senior 4th District Court Judge who was appointed to hear the case.

Budge is being represented by Lindsay Jarvis and co-counsel Greg Law, two attorneys out of West Jordan, while the state is represented by prosecutors Zachary Weiland and Ryan Shaum.

The incident and subsequent investigation 

The charges stem from an incident that took place on April 9, 2022, in which two brothers died after they were struck by a red 2004 Toyota Highlander that was found several hundred yards west of where the incident occurred. The men were participating in the annual Spring Tour of St. George bicycle ride, along with their sons, both of whom were trailing behind when their fathers were struck.

Budge told responding officers she had several health issues and needed medical attention, adding she was taking several medications, according to charging documents filed with the courts. Budge also said she began defecating on herself shortly before the incident, causing her to swerve toward the side of the road where she claimed she did not see the two cyclists stopped on the shoulder.

The case was bound over for trial following a preliminary hearing held in May 2022, and from there, Jarvis filed a series of motions and continuances that were heard before District Judge G. Michael Westfall, but once he retired, Eyre was appointed to hear the case.

The family of the two victims traveled from their homes in California to attend the trial.

Day 1 – opening arguments – the state

Following jury selection that took place all day Friday, the trial started Monday morning with opening arguments.

Weiland outlined the incident, saying the two victims were participating in a 75-mile ride when they came to the Coral Canyon area of Washington City, where the riders were coming down North Canyon Boulevard to Telegraph Street. They intended to head east, while their sons, “thank goodness,” the prosecutor said, were several seconds behind.

Just as the riders neared the bottom of the hill, they reached the intersection where they were struck by the red Toyota Highlander, driven by Budge. The Toyota veered to the right, crossing over two lanes of travel into the bike lane, before the SUV swerved and bounced off the curb and then struck both cyclists. The impact launched the men onto the hood of the SUV and they were thrown more than 160 feet, the prosecutor said. They landed in the middle of the travel lane running alongside the median. 

Seconds later, Weiland said, their two sons approached the scene, not knowing what had happened since neither witnessed the crash when they found their fathers in the middle of the roadway. 

From the beginning, Weiland said, the driver told officers she was on “a lot” of medications, and said she was given fentanyl at the hospital the previous day. The driver then claimed that she started “pooping her pants,” Weiland said, causing her to swerve and strike the cyclists. Based on the driver’s statements and the seriousness of the incident, the accident reconstruction team was called in.

As part of the investigation, a field sobriety test was administered, during which, the defendant was incapable of functioning properly, was incoherent at times and was unable to complete a sentence. In fact, the prosecutor said, “every single” field sobriety test showed signs of impairment.

As such, the state’s position was that Budge struck the two cyclists due to impairment, evidenced by the test results and her behavior before and after the crash, in addition to her admission that she had picked up a prescription of Clonazepam, a sedative, an hour before the crash. He went on to say that a positive blood test for the drug later came back as positive.

The defendant then failed to remain at the scene of the crash, nor did she attempt to render any aid to the cyclists – all of which shows criminal negligence, Weiland said.

The defense 

Jarvis said that everyone wants justice, which is understandable, but that justice should be proportionate to what took place that day and that people should be held accountable for what they have done.

But they shouldn’t be consequent to higher charges simply because there was a tragedy. “And that is where the difference in this case comes,” Jarvis said.  

Jarvis explained that the evidence would show her client “was very articulate” while speaking to the officer and told him at the time she was suffering from medical problems, not impairment, the defense attorney said. Her client had an accident by defecating on herself while she was driving, which caused her to swerve and strike the cyclists. 

“She didn’t see the bikers and then she hit them,” actions her client readily admitted from the beginning and she should be held accountable, but not for impairment, Jarvis said. She was distracted by a medical issue when the crash took place, thus her client’s actions were not criminally negligent.

Jarvis said the evidence would reveal the charges filed in the case were the result of a faulty accident investigation, biased assumptions made at the scene that caused the state to build its case around the inaccurate information that was released right after the incident, she said, combined with conflicting witness statements.

Based on those factors, the defense attorney said, her client’s actions were not criminally negligent.

“So I will turn to you at the end of the trial and ask you to find her not guilty of that major offense, and find her guilty of something that’s actually what she did,” Jarvis said to the jury.  

Multiple witnesses take the stand 

One witness testified he was heading through the construction zone behind the SUV, where “everything seemed normal.” When the road opened up, he said he continued behind the SUV that veered to the right and continued across the slow lane, the turn lane and then crossed into the bike lane –  with no brake lights or turn signal, he said. And then the SUV appeared to impact something.

“I didn’t know what it was at first” before the vehicle swerved back across both lanes and continued heading west in the fast lane, he said

The same witness said he stopped as soon as he saw the bodies and positioned his motorcycle to block the riders from being struck by other motorists until officers and other emergency personnel arrived.

Another witness testified that he saw the SUV impact “something” and described “an explosion of debris” before seeing “the bodies in the air and the SUV was back in the fast lane” within seconds. When he stopped his truck just short of the debris field, he said, he put his flashers on to prevent other motorists from hitting the injured men.

Another witness who was traveling behind the defendant said he had stopped and was speaking with her, adding that Budge appeared “frail,” adding there was defecation near where the defendant was standing on the side of the roadway.

One consistent theme running throughout the witness testimony was the lack of brake lights or turn signals and that the SUV continued heading west after striking the riders, without braking or stopping, they said. The defendant’s vehicle continued for several hundred yards before it pulled off the shoulder of the roadway and stopped.

The state is expected to call multiple witnesses as the trial continued Tuesday morning.

This report is based on statements from court records, 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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