2 Utah Tech students in fatal crash identified

IVINS, Utah (KSL.com) — The Utah Tech University student killed Sept. 25 night in the deadly rollover in Snow Canyon State Park has been identified as 19-year-old Sawyer Sherk.

Sherk was a freshman at Utah Tech, and went to high school at Coronado, in Henderson, Nevada. He was driving down Snow Canyon Road when the accident happened, at around 10 p.m. Sept. 25, according to Utah State Parks spokeswoman Lindsay Higbee.

Higbee says the car was going between 70 mph and 100 mph, and investigators believe the vehicle rolled over, traveling around 300 feet down a cliff before coming to a stop in the Lava Flow Trailhead parking lot. A release from the Santa Clara-Ivins Fire and Rescue said responders to the accident had to use “extraction tools” to access the trio and initiate medical care.

Sherk died at the scene, Higbee said. One of the teens injured was Kali Parkinson, a recent Fremont High School graduate and current freshman at Utah Tech University, according to her former lacrosse coach, Seth Jones, speaking for her family. The family of the other injured teen wished to remain anonymous.

Parkinson remains in the intensive care unit at a hospital in St. George, Jones said, after sustaining multiple serious injuries and undergoing three major surgeries. She is expected to remain in the hospital for 6 to 8 weeks.

“Kali is the type of person that would take the shirt off her back to keep you warm,” one of Parkinson’s former lacrosse teammates said. She was a part of the high school team that won a state championship last year, and continues staying active playing flag football at Utah Tech, Jones said.

Savannah Clarke, one of Kali’s coaches, said, “She has a bright smile and always looks for ways to encourage those around her.”

A GoFundMe Campaign has been set up to offset Parkinson’s medical expenses going forward. A spokesperson from Utah Tech University declined to comment on the students but said the school has “expanded walk-in availability for our counseling services” at the Booth Wellness Center on campus.

No additional information has been released about the cause of the accident, which is still being investigated by the Washington County Accident Response team.