In a Tragic Holiday Accident, A Utah Family Loses its Daughter and Father/Husband, While a Company Loses its President and CEO
The summary of the fatal accident is so absurd, it's hard to believe it actually happened in real life.
And yet it did.
According to the official announcement from the Utah Highway Patrol,
"On Saturday, July 6, 2024, at approximately 12:49 pm, a tow truck carrying a mini bulldozer was traveling eastbound (in Ogden Canyon) on SR-39 near milepost 9. The vehicle was negotiating a right-hand curve when the bulldozer broke free, sliding off the driver’s side. A GMC pickup was traveling westbound towing a boat. The bulldozer landed on the GMC pickup."
In the pickup were 5 of 6 members of the Hendrickson family of Uintah, Utah, with two individuals pronounced dead on the scene:
- 16-year-old Sally Hendrickson, a passenger, and
- The driver (Sally's father), 57-year-old Richard David Hendrickson.
Three other Hendrickson family members were also in the vehicle at the time of the accident, with the Highway Patrol reporting that two of them suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The unfortunate Utah Money Watch side to this story is the fact that Richard Hendrickson was the President and CEO of 38-year-old Clearfield, Utah-based Lifetime Products, "... the world’s leading manufacturer of residential basketball hoops, polyethylene folding tables, and chairs."
According to a Barry Mower, Founder of Lifetime Products,
"Richard started as a welder and progressed through multiple levels of the company to become President and CEO due to his extraordinary talents and abilities. He was one of my most trusted and cherished friends and will be sorely missed. Lifetime will not be the same without him. My love and heartfelt sympathy go out to his dear family."
According to his LinkedIn Profile, Richard had been with Lifetime since September 1988, nearly 36 years.
In addition to his responsibilities at Lifetime, Richard was also serving at the time as the volunteer Stake President for the Ogden Utah Pleasant Valley Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an ecclesiastical role for a leader that oversees the activities of 6 to 12 local congregations in an area.
According to the company news release announcing the tragic accident, Lifetime was started in its Founder's backyard who "... began by building a better basketball system."
Today, in addition to residential basketball hoops, polyethylene folding tables, and chairs, the company also builds
- Outdoor sheds,
- Composters,
- Playsets,
- Kayaks, and
- Coolers,
products that are sold in more than 120 countries.
According to Wikipedia, Lifetime employs several thousand people, has a 2.2 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Clearfield, Utah and a separate 700,000-square-foot east coast and distribution center in Mascot, Tennessee, near Knoxville.
In closing, we in the Utah Money Products ecosystem extend our deepest and heartfelt empathies and sympathies to the immediate and extended Hendrickson family, as well as the members of the Lifetime Products team.
Vaya con Dios.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
In closing, a brief thank you to my long-time friend, confidant, and journalistic polestar, T.C. Doyle, for his encouragement today to not fall into the trap of editorial laziness with the initial version of this writeup.
To you, TC, a tip 'o the hat.
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