State Rep. Eric Hutchings and several family members were injured in a car crash Monday night in Salt Lake City, UtahPolicy is told.
Hutchings was absent from morning legislative hearings and floor action, but was expected up on Capitol Hill for afternoon meetings, sources said.
Hutchings, R-Kearns, first elected in 2002, is one of the senior members in the House. He is the House chair of the Executive Offices and Criminal Justice budget committee, where he is a leader in justice and criminal reform.
In fact, he was behind the big push two years ago of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, or JRI.
In a sad irony, Monday afternoon Hutchings introduced HB359, a bill that would expand state aid to persons suffering from traumatic spine and brain injuries.
The bill would place more family members of those suffering those injuries on the special board, and increase the ATV registration fee by 50 cents, the additional money going into a special spine and brain rehabilitation fund which aids charitable clinics that deal with those long-term medical needs.
It is unknown, however, if Hutchings or his family did, indeed, suffer such injuries.
