ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) – A former basketball player and coach at West Jordan High School is mourning the loss of his wife, son, daughter, brother, and nephew in Sunday’s deadly dust storm pileup on Interstate 15 in Millard County.
A GoFundMe campaign says that Mason Sawyer was in St. George waiting for his family, but five of them never arrived. The fundraising page claims that his 30-year-old wife Kortni, 6-year-old son Riggins, and 2-year-old daughter Franki were killed in the crash.
On the page, Kortni is described as “a loving wife, mother, daughter, and sister among her family, as well as a dedicated nurse.” It also says “Riggs had recently graduated preschool, and loved basketball, superheroes, and Legos,” and “Franki was 2 years old, spunky, and known as ‘Daddy’s Princess’, her brothers’ shadow, and ‘Mom’s mini-me’.”
The GoFundMe post says that Mason and Kortni’s four-year-old son Blue survived the wreck but Mason’s older brother, 37-year-old Race Sawyer and his 12-year-old son Ryder of Lehi, did not.
Online profiles list Race as an employee in the healthcare field and a former boxer and mixed martial artist who leaves behind a wife, a son, and a daughter. The page states: “Race was a dedicated and loving husband and father, an incredible athlete, loved to play games, and preferred Snickers for breakfast and burgers for dinner.” It also states “Ryder was his mother’s greatest teacher, always found the good in everything, and was humbly yet fiercely competitive in everything he did.”
By Monday evening that GoFundMe page had already raised more than $173,000 for the Sawyer families.
Late Monday afternoon, the Utah Department of Public Safety named the other three deceased victims as 51-year-old Robert Lorenzon and 47-year-old Maricela Lorenzon of Salt Lake City, and 15-year-old Cameron Valentine of Yuma, Arizona.
Three other crash victims are still listed in critical condition.
To learn more or to donate, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/donations-for-mason-and-keshia-sawyer-family
