Oct 7th, 2019, at 5:14 p.m., our lives were permanently altered because of road rage and bad choices. The earth lost a ray of sunshine that afternoon. EJ Blackham was driving home on State Road 147 near Payson, Utah. He had finished a fun afternoon of target practice with one of his best friends at West Mountain. EJ was scheduled to leave for Marine Corps Bootcamp in six days and was out enjoying his free time doing the things he loved. Things like spending time with friends, driving his old, blue 1975 Ford F250 named Rex and making memories with his family, girlfriend, and his cattle dog named Jinx.

On his drive home on Oct 7th, he and his buddy were listening to Toby Keith with the windows down and going the speed limit, when they noticed a white truck that flew past them. This truck then pulled in front of my son and hit their breaks. This caused EJ to swerve to avoid hitting them. EJ then made the choice to speed up and pass this other truck.

As he tried passing, the other vehicle swerved to block him. A sideswipe occurred and EJ lost control. He overcorrected and his truck rolled twice before hitting a cement fence pole and then turned over landing on the passenger side.  EJ was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected. He passed on impact. His 18-year-old passenger was wearing a seat belt and he walked away with minor injury and a forever broken heart.

Please buckle up for the ones you love, and if someone drives erratically or aggressively, please remember road rage kills. Just let it go and do not encourage or engage with a reckless driver. Speeding kills. Not wearing a seat belt kills.

My son’s life was taken too soon and the entire event was 100% preventable.

EJ’s mom (Kimberly Harter)