The father of a Brigham Young University student who was killed in a Provo car crash last year is suing the deputy who slammed into him, as well as several other defendants.
Joseph Spencer’s father, Wesley Spencer, filed the wrongful death lawsuit last week in 4th District Court against Utah County Sheriff’s Office deputy Joe Richardson, as well as the sheriff’s office, the county and Taco Bell — whose parking lot Joseph Spencer was pulling out of when he was struck.
Deputy Richardson, 52, was criminally charged with manslaughter on March 7 in connection with the fatal crash, court documents show.
Joseph Spencer’s father declined to comment on the lawsuit. A message left with Richardson’s attorney was not returned Monday afternoon.
On March 16, 2021, Joseph Spencer was pulling out of the Taco Bell parking lot at 433 N. 900 East in Provo when Richardson plowed into Spencer’s vehicle on 900 East, killing the student.
According to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, Richardson had been heading to the scene of a police standoff involving an armed man in Pleasant Grove that afternoon. The black truck that Richardson was driving was his personal vehicle and was not equipped with lights or sirens, police have said.
Data collected from Richardson’s vehicle showed that he was traveling at a speed of about 58 mph just seconds before the crash in a 35 mph speed limit zone, charging documents state.
Spencer was declared dead at the scene. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, a medical examiner determined.
(Provo Police Department) Joseph Spencer, 22, died after a Utah County Sheriff's Office deputy slammed into his car on March 16, 2021, as Spencer pulled out of a parking lot.
The lawsuit filed March 15 alleges that Richardson, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and Utah County acted with “utter indifference to, and disregard for, the consequences of their actions.”
In the filing, Joseph Spencer’s father accuses the county and the sheriff’s office of enacting policies that force deputies to respond to SWAT calls quickly even while driving their personal vehicles, knowing that they may feel inclined to break traffic laws to do so.
The lawsuit alleges that Richardson “ignored” traffic laws when he accelerated and “tried to beat” Spencer as the 22-year-old attempted to turn left, smashing into Spencer’s driver’s side door instead.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the lawsuit. In terms of department policy, he said the agency has dictated that “when deputies are responding to a work-related incident but are driving in their personal vehicle, they are to obey all state and local traffic regulations.”
Taco Bell is included among the defendants because, the lawsuit alleges, the restaurant’s landscaping interfered with Richardson’s ability to see drivers pulling out of the drive-thru.
As of Monday, no defendants had filed a formal response to the complaint, court records indicate.
