SANTAQUIN — After a Utah County man took a plea deal in a road rage case that left two people dead, his former wife is sharing her perspective on the toll road rage can take.
Road rage certainly impacts those directly involved with it, said Ashley Matheson, but the effects go much further than that.
“It was pretty world-shattering,” she said of the day in June 2023 when she learned her ex-husband, Peterson Matheson, was involved in a car crash.
It turned out the crash on state Route 73 was caused by road rage, and it killed Rodney Salm and his girlfriend, Michaela Himmelberger, who were out on a ride.
On Tuesday, Peterson Matheson pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter. Rodney Salm’s brother, Peter Salm, told KSL he supported the plea deal.
“I’m not a vindictive person,” Peter Salm said. “I know this guy didn’t get out of bed in the morning and decide he’s going to go and kill two people. It doesn’t happen that way. But at the same time, I believe he’s accountable for his actions.”
Meanwhile, Ashley Matheson’s life is a lot different today because of this case of road rage.
“It impacted my family to the point of taking my kids’ dad from them,” she said. “It impacted us to the point of where we had to sell our home. We had to move out of our neighborhood.”
The lives that were lost were “the most damaging thing” that resulted from that crash, Ashley Matheson said. But, she added, she and her children were also victims.
“Even though I wasn’t in the car – I had nothing to do with what happened, it wasn’t my decision – I was scrutinized on social media,” she said. “I was scrutinized through Facebook comments. People were really rude to me.”
Ashley Matheson has since divorced her husband. She supports the victims’ families and hopes they’ll find peace. She also urges other drivers to stop road rage before it starts.
“Even if you don’t have a wife and children at home that it’s going to impact, you have other family members and friends and co-workers,” she said, “and it impacts everyone on such a deep level.”
Peterson Matheson is set to be sentenced in this road rage case in January. He could face years in prison.
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