A Weber State University police officer hit and killed a 69-year-old pedestrian who was crossing a well-lit street last week.
The man, now identified as William Clay Casselman, was nearly across Washington Boulevard when the traffic light changed, which can be seen in a video released Wednesday by the Weber County attorney’s office. Before he reaches the sidewalk, the officer in a squad car slams into him.
Casselman is thrown several yards in the air.
There is no bodycam or dashcam footage of the incident, said County Attorney Christopher Allred. The video comes from a nearby business. Because of the graphic nature, The Salt Lake Tribune is not posting it.
The recording shows Casselman crossing the street at 10:41 p.m. It’s dark, but there are streetlights illuminating his figure, including a bright spot on him as he gets closer to the sidewalk.
He is just about to the other side. Cars that were stopped at the light, facing south, start to drive after Casselman gets about three-quarters of the way across the crosswalk.
But the officer, who is heading north near 27th Street, appears not to see him still in the road as he approaches the intersection. The patrol car’s headlights are on.
(Screenshot) A circle is added to this screenshot to show where William Casselman was crossing the road when he was struck by a Weber State police officer.
Investigators have not released how fast the officer was driving, but Casselman was hit hard enough that he skidded across the road and ended up a ways into the turn lane across the street, into the next intersection. He died at the scene.
The officer can be seen stopping, turning on the patrol car’s flashing lights and getting out of the car to check on Casselman. The officer and Ogden paramedics tried to revive Casselman.
The fatal crash is now under investigation by Ogden police and the Weber County attorney’s office. And the officer is on administrative leave.
Allred said the officer was doing “routine patrol in the area.” But the officer’s name and how long the officer has been on staff at Weber State have not been released. Weber State deferred questions to the investigating agencies.
Investigators also initially identified the pedestrian as a 27-year-old man. Allred said he’s not sure where that error came from.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “I can’t go into any more detail beyond what is in the video because the incident is still under investigation.”
