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SUNSET — A driver distracted by her dog crashed head-on into a Davis County Sheriff’s Office SUV Thursday, deputies said.

Dash cam video of the crash near 150 West 2400 North showed the sedan cross the center line of the road and impact Deputy Dave Passmore’s vehicle.

“I was expecting her to weave back over, out of the way,” Passmore said. “She never did.”

Passmore said he had slowed his speed to 9 miles per hour, but the sedan struck his SUV traveling 30 miles per hour.

“She said that she wasn’t looking at anything — that she was just on her way to pick up her parents. But as I’m watching her approach me, she’s not looking at where she’s going,” Passmore recalled. “Just a fraction of a second before impact, she looks up, sees me, sees what’s about to happen, and by then it was too late.”

Passmore said the 23-year-old woman appeared to be holding her dog at the time.

“I don’t know why she was messing with the puppy,” Passmore said.

Sunset police were called in to investigate the crash. Sunset police Chief Ken Eborn said the woman was cited for unsafe lane travel and negligent collision.

Passmore said it was fortunate there were no serious injuries resulting from the crash.

“It should have never happened," Passmore said. "If she needed to address an issue with the dog, if she had simply pulled over and dealt with it, none of this would have happened. It was 100-percent avoidable.”

Passmore said the case serves as a cautionary tale to distracted drivers.

“Slow down and pay attention,” he cautioned. “You do those two things and the majority of accidents will stop.”

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