Driver’s original blood alcohol reading was result of a goof by state crime lab

Automobile homicide charges against a Tooele dump truck driver who caused a fatal crash on SR-36 last month have been dropped following a mix-up at the state crime lab.

Steven Douglas Jakeman, 43, was the driver of a Western Excavation dump truck that pulled in front of a UPS delivery truck, driven by Alan Christofferson, at the intersection of SR-138 and SR-36 in Stansbury Park on the morning of Dec. 1.

The collision killed Christofferson. Both vehicles were left severely mangled.

The Tooele County Attorney’s Office filed third-degree felony automobile homicide charges against Jakeman after subsequent blood work came back with a 0.19 blood alcohol level — more than twice the legal limit.

However, several people who saw Jakeman just before or just after the accident said they had no reason to believe he was under the influence of alcohol. They cited the time of day the accident occurred and the short interval between when Jakeman had had direct contact with a manager and the time of the accident. Medical personnel also made statements that they did not smell alcohol on Jakeman’s breath after the accident.

Based on those accounts, the county attorney’s office had Jakeman’s blood vile retested at a private lab. This time it came back negative for alcohol. The blood was then tested at the Utah Department of Health’s toxicology lab again and the results again were negative.

Tooele County Attorney Doug Hogan said the original 0.19 reading was a result of human error.

“The technician read the wrong tube,” Hogan said, adding that each test tub is identified with a number and apparently the tube with a number one digit different from Jakeman’s tube was mistaken for his.

Hogan’s office plans to refile misdemeanor failure-to-yield charges against Jakeman, and is still evaluating the status of Jakeman’s driver’s license at the time of the accident. Jakeman was carrying an expired temporary license with him, but has said his license is active.

Jakeman said though the accident still causes him anguish, he’s glad to be exonerated of drunk driving.

“I’m glad they are taking more precautions now so this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” he said. “Physically I’m getting better, but mentally I’m still a mess. I’m sorry that Al died. It’s really affected me bad.”

Jamie Belnap: jamieb@tooeletranscript.com