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A Spanish Fork man died Sunday night after running a stop sign in Cedar Fort, according to the Utah County Sheriff's Office.
Walter Benjamin Escotto, 41, was pronounced dead at the scene by AirMed officials. Sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Spencer Cannon said Escotto was driving east on 200 North when he went past the stop sign at State Road 73 and slammed into a car driven by a 43-year-old Riverton woman. The driver of the car was not injured.
Cannon said there were skid marks at the scene, indicating that Escotto tried to stop, but he braked too late to avoid hitting the car. Investigators are citing speed as a factor in the accident. Cannon said investigators do not know how fast Escotto was driving, but that it was "significantly above the [25 mph] speed limit."
Escotto was not wearing a helmet, Cannon said.
"I don't think that would've made a difference in this case, but it certainly didn't help," he said.
Investigators are unsure why Escotto braked so late, Cannon said. State Road 73 and 200 North is a three-way "T" intersection, and had Escotto kept driving he would have ended up in a field. Even if the car had not been going through the intersection at the time Escotto ran the stop sign, he would not have been able to stop in time to avoid driving into the fenced-off field, Cannon said.
Cannon said Escotto still would have suffered some injuries if he had driven into the field, but said his chances of survival would have been much higher.
• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or
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