ST. GEORGE — The courtroom was awash in orange from family and friends who showed up in support of a 7-year-old boy who died in Washington City last June, following a crash that involved a drunken driver.

On Thursday, Tracy Sandoval, 47, appeared before District Judge John J. Walton for sentencing on multiple charges, including negligently operating a motor vehicle resulting in death, a second-degree felony; two counts of negligently operating a motor vehicle resulting in serious injury; and failing to remain at an accident resulting in death, a third-degree felony.

The remaining charges, negligent automobile homicide involving a device, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, failing to stop at a stop sign and a windshield obstruction infraction, were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The charges stem from a three-vehicle crash reported June 30, 2023, in Washington City.

Officers arrived to find two vehicles, a white Volkswagen Jetta and a blue Ford Focus that were severely damaged. The third vehicle, a white Ford Expedition, was no longer at the scene, as previously reported by St. George News.

The three occupants in the Focus sustained extensive injuries, including Acestyn “Ace” James Butterfus, 7, who was transported to St. George Regional Hospital, where he died approximately one hour later.

Ace’s 14-year-old sister sustained a concussion and injuries to her right hip, ribs and chest area, while the boy’s father suffered multiple neck fractures. The 19-year-old woman in the Jetta sustained a compound fracture in her back, as well as other injuries.

The driver of the Expedition, Sandoval, was found by officers shortly after and was arrested for suspected DUI and using a cellphone just before the crash. He later admitted to leaving the scene because he was nervous, but said he was returning to the site when police stopped him.

During Thursday’s hearing, the gallery was full of dozens of family members and friends wearing orange shirts to show solidarity for the loss suffered that day, and to celebrate Ace’s life.

Ace’s sister, Lily Butterfus, was the first to address the court.

“In a split second, I watched my brother die,” she said.

She went on to describe the intense pain and suffering she continues to experience from migraines that plague her daily.

To the defendant, she said his decision to drive home drunk, run a stop sign and hit their vehicle before fleeing the scene was a “split-second choice that has caused me 24,037,200 seconds of suffering, and the clock will never stop counting.”

Ace’s father, Westley Butterfus, sustained three broken bones in his neck and required surgery following the crash, which left him with limited mobility. He said he suffers excruciating pain that has prevented him from working.

But the physical suffering is outweighed by the loss of his son, who he said “loved everybody” and whose life was cut short.

He said his first memory after the crash was his daughter slapping his face to wake him up, telling him, “Wake up dad. Ace isn’t responding.”

“The gravity of that moment alone will haunt me until my dying days,” he said. 

Lily’s mother, Monica Lanning, also addressed the court by describing when she received an alert from her daughter’s cellphone indicating the device had experienced a significant impact or was dropped from a great distance.

When she mapped the location of the phone, she noticed the icon never moved. Instead, it hovered over the center of an intersection in Washington City.

“I knew in that moment something terrible had happened,” she said

She continued to call her daughter’s cellphone, but no answer. She then tried to call the children’s father, who also did not answer, which caused her to panic as she was 1,600 miles away.

“This one decision has significantly derailed the lives of countless people who loved these four victims,” she said to the defendant.  

To the judge, Ace’s mother, Briana Shea Ramirez said, “Your Honor, this crime has shattered my world, leaving me adrift in a sea of grief.”

Lindsay Callahan, Ace’s godmother, described the loss of the 7-year-old boy with the dimpled smile and contagious laugh who would never get the chance to graduate from high school, play sports, get married or have children — all due to the defendant’s actions.

This was not an isolated incident, but rather a “pattern of reckless conduct”  that has left a trail of destruction in its wake, she said. She then described the suffering of Ace’s mother during a poignant moment at the hospital.

“No mother should ever have to make molds of her child’s hands to remember them,” she said.

The mother of the 19-year-old who was driving the Jetta, Marti Hamilton, talked about how her daughter suffered multiple fractures in the crash and is now serving a mission for her church.

Hamilton said she was driving in the area when she received a call from a good Samaritan who stopped to help her daughter. When she arrived at the scene, she said she found her daughter “huddled in a ball crying for help,” while the person responsible was long gone. She asked the judge to protect other families from what their family and the Butterfus family have had to endure.

Prosecutor Lane Wood said there is no justice in a case like this, as there is nothing anyone could do to bring back Ace or relieve the agony suffered by those injured or impacted by this crash.

The defendant’s selfish decisions have “forever changed the lives of all of these people,” Wood said.

“This is a heartbreaking case,” defense attorney Douglas Terry said.

Terry described Sandoval as a “loving father and husband,” a sentiment echoed in several letters sent to the court from members of the Sandoval family. Alcohol has been an issue in Sandoval’s life, Terry said, adding that Sandoval had a long period of sobriety until the crash in June, an incident he said his client is remorseful for causing.

The defense attorney said Sandoval took responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges, which, in part, was to save the families from having to relive the day of the crash. And Sandoval did this knowing the guilty plea would mean serving a prison sentence, which Terry said was appropriate for this case. 

Sandovol said he has prayed for the families and others impacted every day for the last 10 months he has been in jail.

“And I’m sorry. I wish there was a way — I would take everything back,” the defendant said, adding it was now out of his hands.

Before the ruling, Walton commented on the case, saying, “I  don’t recall a case in almost 20 years where the descriptions of the day-to-day suffering have been so articulate.”

“Mr. Sandoval, you made not just one bad decision on that day, but you made a series of bad decisions,” Walton said to the defendant.

He then sentenced Sandoval to serve the maximum sentence of 1-15 years in Utah State Prison for the second-degree felony charge of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in death.

He also ordered Sandoval to serve 0-5 years on each of the three third-degree felony charges of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious bodily harm. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively.  

Ed. Note: This report has been updated to correct the name and age of Ace’s sister, Lily Butterfus, as well as the statements made by her mother, Monica Lanning.

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