A Utah man, Travis McIntyre, is accused of fatally striking Matthew Daines with his vehicle while drunk. Daines, reportedly, saved his wife’s life by pushing her away from the vehicle’s path. He is now hailed as a hero.
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According to a release issued by the Springfield Police Department (SPD), the incident occurred on Wednesday, September 3. At around 6:39 p.m., Daines and his wife were walking near 40 East 400 South.
Suddently, a truck pulling a trailer “left the roadway.” In a split second, Daines saw the oncoming truck and decided to act. Knowing the vehicle would hit them both, he pushed his wife out of the truck’s way. He saved the woman’s life and took the entire truck’s impact.
SPD officers responded to the scene and initiated life-saving efforts until emergency responders arrived. Daines was rushed to a local hospital, where he unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. His wife, meanwhile, was unharmed thanks to his selfless act of heroism.
Meanwhile, police conducted a DUI investigation as they alleged “observed odor of alcohol coming from the driver while on scene.”
Alleged Drunk Driver
Court documents reviewed by KUTV showed that the driver, Travis McIntyre, allegedly struggled to stand on his own and was unable to perform any field sobriety test. Furthermore, his blood alcohol content showed that he had six times the legal limit in his system, the documents alleged.
Furthermore, police also allegedly found open alcoholic containers inside McIntyre’s vehicle. They also discovered that his license was denied at the time of the incident, documents said.
As a result, Travis McIntyre was charged with second-degree felony automobile homicide, driving on a denied license, DUI, failure to comply with duties at an accident, negligently operating a vehicle, having an open container in the vehicle, and reckless driving.
The SPD also shared a statement issued by Matthew Daines’ family, who identified him publicly.
“No words can adequately express our sense of loss at the sudden and unexpected death of our son Matthew Daines,” the statement read. “The event that took him from us and this Earth resulted from human error, but does not undermine the power and love of the Almighty, in whose wisdom we choose to trust.”
“In our profoundly deep sorrow, we encourage no sense of retribution to anyone. We ask that all persons and parties not directly involved in this tragic matter respect our need for privacy while we deal with loss and necessary arrangements, going forward.”
As per Fox 13, Matthew Daines had recently married his wife, Andrea, back in July. A GoFundMe was set up to help support his family.