Utah Tech students identified in fatal Snow Canyon crash

IVINS, Washington County — The Utah Tech University student killed in the fatal rollover crash at Snow Canyon State Park the night of Sept. 25 has been identified as 19-year-old Sawyer Sherk.

Sherk was a freshman at Utah Tech and attended high school in Coronado in Henderson, Nevada. He was driving along Snow Canyon Road when the accident occurred around 10 p.m. on Sept. 25, according to Utah State Parks spokeswoman Lindsay Higbee.

Higbee says the car was traveling between 70 and 100 miles per hour, and investigators believe the vehicle rolled over and traveled about 300 feet down a cliff before coming to a stop in the Lava Flow Trailhead parking lot. A statement from Santa Clara-Ivins Fire and Rescue said crash responders had to use “recovery tools” to get to the trio and initiate medical care.

Sherk died at the scene, Higbee said. One of the injured teens was Kali Parkinson, a Fremont High School graduate and current freshman at Utah Tech University, according to her former lacrosse coach Seth Jones, who spoke on behalf of her family. The family of the other injured teen asked to remain anonymous.

Parkinson remains in the intensive care unit of a St. George hospital, Jones said, after suffering multiple serious injuries and undergoing three major surgeries. She is expected to remain in the hospital for 6 to 8 weeks.

“Kali is the type of person who pulls his shirt off his back to stay warm,” said one of Parkinson’s former lacrosse teammates. She was part of the high school team that won a state championship last year and continues to actively play flag football at Utah Tech, Jones said.

Savannah Clarke, one of Kali's trainers, said, “She has a bright smile and is always looking for ways to encourage those around her.”

A GoFundMe campaign* was launched to offset future medical costs for Parkinson's. A spokesman for Utah Tech University declined to comment on students but said the school has “expanded the availability of our on-site counseling services” at the Booth Wellness Center on campus.

No further information was released about the cause of the accident, which remains under investigation by the Washington County Accident Response Team.

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