ST. GEORGE — Police say the blood alcohol level of a man accused of driving his pickup head-on into another on Sunset Boulevard on Tuesday, causing the death of the driver of that vehicle, was above the legal limit, and he is being held without bail on a charge of second-degree homicide.
Police say William Jacob Western, 47, was driving a Dodge Ram westbound on Sunset Boulevard just past the corner of Valley View Drive when the vehicle veered into the eastbound lane, hitting a Chevy S-10 pickup.
The driver of the Chevy, 55-year-old Manuel Gomez, died of his injuries after he was transported to St. George Regional Hospital.
According to court documents, Western tested at or above the 0.05% blood alcohol level limit in Utah, combined with having a measurable amount of controlled substances – Adderall and Ambien – in his system.
The second-degree homicide charge carries a sentence of 1-15 years in prison.
Western already was on probation for one year after pleading guilty in January to criminally trespassing at the Washington City Walmart in August 2022.
He had just completed a one-year probation for driving under the influence of alcohol in September 2019 in Ivins. He also has past convictions since 2016 for driving without a license and shoplifting.
Western will remain in Purgatory Correctional Facility pending a hearing.
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