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Gwendolyn Doner

Age : 19

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 04/19/2021

Location : I-215 eastbound interchange with I-15 southbound

City : Murray

County : Salt Lake

State : Utah

Agency : Unified Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Police pursued a man who had rammed a police vehicle and driven away.
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OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY:
On 04/19/2021, 19-year-old Gwendolyn “Gwen” Doner was critically injured when a Chevrolet Avalanche fleeing Unified Police Department officers traveled the wrong way on Interstate 215 and crashed head-on into the Ford Taurus she was driving near the I-215/I-15 interchange in Murray, Utah. Doner died at Intermountain Medical Center less than two days later.
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The fatal sequence began when oh mandrove to the Unified Police Department's Cottonwood Heights substation at 7840 South 2700 East and rammed a marked police patrol vehicle parked there. He then drove away and Unified Police officers pursued him.
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The flea driver entered Interstate 215 at 6200 South traveling the wrong direction. Unified Police terminated the pursuit because the fleeing vehicle was driving against freeway traffic. Law enforcement attempted to shut down the immediate area, but the vehicle continued traveling the wrong way for approximately six miles.
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Doner was driving her Ford Taurus with her boyfriend, Tyler Shoemaker, as a passenger. They were returning from giving a friend a ride home. Their dog, Blue, was also riding in the vehicle.
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Near the interchange from I-215 to southbound I-15, the vehicle under pursuit crashed head-on into Doner's Taurus. The driver. subsequently continued and collided head-on with a Jeep Cherokee. Doner sustained critical injuries, Shoemaker was seriously injured, and another person involved in the subsequent collision was also injured.
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The driver got out of his vehicle after the collisions and ran from the scene before officers apprehended him. According to charging documents, the driver later told police that he had deliberately driven the wrong way because he was attempting to kill himself.
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Doner was transported to Intermountain Medical Center and died less than two days after the collision. Subsequent litigation by her parents alleged that Doner survived the crash but suffered a fatal anoxic brain injury after emergency medical providers administered an excessive dose of ketamine. The lawsuit alleged that the medication error, rather than her crash injuries themselves, ultimately caused her death.
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DISPOSITION:
Robertson ultimately pleaded guilty to murder, negligently operating a vehicle causing injury or death, failure to stop at the command of police, and other offenses. In 2022, a judge imposed prison sentences totaling a minimum of approximately 20 years.
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The officer(s) were not criminally charged for their role in initiating the pursuit.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The involved Unified Police Department officers have not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.ksl.com/article/50157818
https://www.ksl.com/article/50162040
https://www.ksl.com/article/50493372/judge-recommends-20-years-in-prison-for-utahn-who-caused-fatal-wrong-way-crash
https://www.ksl.com/article/50619427/medical-overdose-not-wrong-way-crash-killed-woman-in-2021-lawsuit-says-
https://www.deh-law.com/ketamine-overdose-malpractice-doner
https://www.belllawfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Doner-Complaint-2023-04-10.pdf