SWEETWATER COUNTY — A 19-year-old Cheyenne man could face 8-12 years in prison after changing his plea to guilty to one count of aggravated homicide by vehicle and two counts of driving under the influence (DUI) of a controlled substance causing serious bodily harm.

The charges stem from a single-vehicle rollover crash south of Rock Springs on US Highway 191 that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old girl, initials N.G.O. Three other passengers were seriously injured, but survived the accident. Jaquan Tavion Lyons-Smith was driving the vehicle under the influence of marijuana and alcohol, he said during his change of plea hearing Tuesday.

Lyons-Smith previously pleaded not guilty to four charges during his arraignment in March 2023. However, he entered a plea agreement Tuesday in the Third District Court of Judge Richard Lavery. Previously, he was charged with an additional count of DUI of a controlled substance causing serious bodily harm to a male victim, G.O.

Lyons-Smith’s attorney Gary Arnell explained during the change of plea hearing that as per the plea agreement, the state will move to dismiss the count of serious bodily harm to G.O. He said the agreement sets forth a joint recommended sentence of 8-12 years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary for the charge of aggravated homicide by vehicle.

The other two charges typically carry a 3-5 year prison sentence, but as per the plea agreement, both sentences are to be suspended in favor of a three years of supervised probation for each charge. The probation for each charge would run concurrently, however it would run consecutively to his prison sentence, Arnell said. This means Lyons-Smith would have three years supervised probation following his incarceration.

The Accident and Charges

On June 19, 2022, Lyons-Smith attended a bonfire off of US 191. While there, he consumed alcohol before leaving with four passengers in his Nissan Altima. Lyons-Smith said the passengers did not go to the bonfire with him, but left with him. During the hearing, he admitted that he also smoked marijuana at home before leaving for the bonfire.

Lyons-Smith said during the hearing that he only remembers “bits and pieces of the story”. According to the affidavit, lab results showed that Lyons-Smith had a blood serum alcohol level of 46, which Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Chancey Duncan believes converts to a .046 BAC due to it being a serum reading vs. a whole blood sample. Blood results also showed that marijuana was in his system.

According to the affidavit, the vehicle appeared to be traveling northbound at a high rate of speed when the vehicle hit a dip in the roadway and Lyons-Smith lost control. The vehicle ran off the left side of the roadway in a broadside slide, hit a traffic sign post, and tripped and rolled, coming to rest upright facing west. There were no marks left on the roadway and no indication of braking. 

When Trooper Duncan arrived on scene, he said one female, N.G.O., was seen to the side of the vehicle deceased on the scene, according to the affidavit. She, along with two other female passengers, were riding in the backseat and were all ejected from the vehicle.

The affidavit states that one female occupant, F.H.R., had already been transported by ground ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County (MHSC). A third female, A.R.F., was in the ambulance being worked on and she was flown by air ambulance to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. One male, G.O., was being worked on in the other ambulance and he was transported along with Lyons-Smith to MHSC.

Lyons-Smith and G.O., who was riding in the front passenger seat, were not ejected but sustained injuries. Lyons-Smith said he broke seven bones in his hand and his pelvis, cracked his sternum, and sustained a concussion.

The affidavit states that G.O. suffered severe swelling to the left side of his face, and was impaled in the mid-lateral right thigh with a tree branch as a result of the crash. He was unresponsive on scene and needed to be extricated from the vehicle.

According to the affidavit, the F.H.R. suffered a left-sided pubic ramus fracture and possible sacroiliac joint fracture; intracranial hemorrhage including subarachnoid hemorrhage at the falx; subdural hemorrhage adjacent to the falx and into the left tentorium; coronal fracture on the right lateral of the C-Spine; significant pulmonary contusions bilateral throughout the posterior apsects of both lungs; left inferior pubic ramus comminuted fracture; left public ramus to pubic body fracture; and left superior pubic ramus into the acetabular non displaced fracture as a result of the crash. She was also unresponsive on scene.

A.R.F. was not adequately breathing and bag-valve-mask (BVM) was used to provide positive pressure ventilations, according to the affidavit. She had no eye movement to stimulation, she had abrasions on her left and right forearms, a left leg laceration approximately six centimeters in length, and a deformity to her left lower leg as a result of the crash.

Though Lyons-Smith said he was driving at an excessive speed, he did not recall how fast he was going.

Sentencing

Judge Lavery said a pre-sentence investigation has been completed, but the victims and their families need to be given notice and time to prepare statements for the sentencing. The sentencing date has not been set at this time. Lyons-Smith remains in the Sweetwater County Detention Center where he has been since the day of his arrest on February 8, 2023.