An impaired driver gets into two vehicle accidents on the same day
- Travis Uresk
- Apr 6
- 3 min read
By Travis Uresk
4-6-25
| Vernal, Ut. | April 5th, 2025 |
Vernal City Police were called to a vehicle accident near 1700 West US-40. The caller stated that a vehicle passed at a high rate of speed, impacting the side of their car damaging the mirror.
The victim stated that they both pulled over and the offender, who was later identified as 42-year-old Curtis Lavar Spafford, said he would pay for the damage with cash.
The victim stated while speaking with Curtis, he was struggling to stand and appeared to be intoxicated. The victim gave the Officer the address Curtis gave them, and other officers made contact with him there. At that point, a family member of Curtis was driving the vehicle.
While police were talking with Curtis, they observed him swaying back and forth while trying to stand still. Officer Candelas asked Curtis what had occurred with the vehicle that he had broken the mirror off of. Curtis stated that he was in the Walmart parking lot when he began to back up and hit the mirror of the other vehicle. He said he got out and exchanged information with the victim, saying he would pay for the damages in cash.
Curtis then proceeded to show me the cash he had just grabbed from the ATM machine.
There was damage on the front of Curtis's vehicle. He was asked by Sgt. Cannon where the damage came from. Curtis stated that it was old.
Officer Candelas asked Curtis if he was driving the vehicle when he was in the parking lot. Curtis stated that he was driving at that time.
After showing signs of impairment during the Field Sobriety Test, Officer Candelas asked Curtis if he would submit to a Portable breath test, which he complied with. Curtis's BrAC was 0.000 percent.
The Officer then went to speak with Curtis's family members and asked what had happened. They said Curtis was at Walmart and was in an accident while on his way home when he impacted the rear of another vehicle. The Officer asked if they had seen this accident, and the family member stated that they had pulled over and driven Curtis the rest of the way home because they believed Curtis was unsafe to drive. The Officer asked if Curtis had taken any medication that would impair him. The Officer was informed that he had Hydrocodone but was unsure when he last had taken it.
While speaking to Curtis's family member, who was driving, dispatch informed the officers that another accident occurred at approximately 500 West 100 South Vernal, Utah.
The complainant of that accident provided the license plate of the vehicle that Curtis was in and told dispatch they were in an accident. The driver of the vehicle stated that he did not have insurance and would pay cash for the repairs.
Curtis was asked to retrieve his driver's license. He stated that it was inside of his house and was then asked if the wallet on the center console was his. Curtis responded that it was, and his driver's license was in his wallet.
Curtis was once again asked if he had been in another accident. He denied that it had occurred. He was informed that the other person involved reported it, and his family member saw it happen. He stated it was the same incident as the other and was going to pay for her damages.
Officer Candelas told Curtis he was being placed under arrest for DUI.
When under arrest, Curtis asked what the process was. The Officer explained that he was going to take him to the hospital and asked him for his consent to draw his blood. Curtis stated that he would have Adderall in his system, but he had a prescription for it and had taken Morphine the night before as well.
After Curtis consented to the blood draw. He was transported to the Uintah County Jail and booked in for Driving under the influence.
All the articles from 1nationjustice.com are from the affidavits of probable cause reports that the officers write. If you would like, you can get a copy of the report from the website below. It does cost money to get on the site and to open every document you want to read.
