A mother and son were on their way to celebrate her birthday Saturday when both were killed in a car crash in Utah County, a family friend said.
Amanda Sessions, 35, and her 13-year-old son Gage Jeffries, of Herriman, “were loved and cherished by all that knew them,” a friend wrote on a GoFundMe campaign page for the family. “Amanda was one of the best examples of selflessness I have ever seen. ... And Gage was such a funny kid and so full of wit.”
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, the mother and child were traveling southbound on State Route 68 west of Utah Lake in a Hyundai Elantra as they headed to the celebration. Around 1:30 p.m. at mile marker 12, their car went off the road to the right, then overcorrected to the left and entered the northbound lane, where it was T-boned by a Jeep Grand Cherokee, troopers said.
The boy died on impact when the Jeep struck the Hyundai on the passenger side of the car, authorities said. First responders performed life-saving measures on Sessions, but she died of her injuries.
The two people in the Jeep were taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.
As of Thursday afternoon, more than $20,000 had been raised to help the family with funeral expenses.
The Utah Highway Patrol said speed is being investigated as a contributing factor to the crash.