'Choosing forgiveness': Man sentenced for leaving collision that caused 9-year-old's death

PROVO — Dalton Gibbs' father said he was "the joy of our home," and was full of enthusiasm. He made everyone, whether nine or 90, feel like a best friend.

"His death has left an agonizing void, it's been excruciating," Tyler Gibbs said. "Every moment is now shrouded in sorrow due to his absence, we miss him every day."

He stood next to his wife on Wednesday while he spoke at the Provo courthouse at the sentencing for George Parker Hunter, 81, who was driving a truck when he hit Gibbs' son in a Pleasant Grove crosswalk, killing the 9-year-old, and then continued driving to the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds. Tyler Gibbs said his son was riding his bike home from school on April 29, 2025 and was hit while in a crosswalk near their home.

"It is impossible to adequately measure or quantify in a few short minutes what Dalton brought to our lives or how deeply his loss has shattered our family and broken our hearts," he told the judge.

Tyler Gibbs spoke about calling his wife who was out of town to let her know about Dalton's death, he said "it took all our effort to just breathe." Not long after, his wife said "we need to pray for that man," referring to Hunter.

The father said no legal sentence could bring true justice, but "one day justice will be served and we will see our sweet Dalton again."

The 9-year-old's family requested that Hunter not be sent to prison, and because of that request, the judge agreed to suspend the statutory prison sentence of zero to five years in prison when accepting Hunter's guilty plea to leaving the scene of an accident, a third-degree felony, and negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor. Instead, 4th District Judge Roger Griffin ordered Hunter to spend 75 days in jail, with credit for any good time, and spend three years on probation.

The judge called it a "horribly tragic" case.

"My best goes to your family over the coming weeks, months and years. This will be difficult," Griffin said to Dalton's family before issuing the sentence.

To Hunter, the judge said, "I appreciate that you've taken responsibility for these actions, but the tragedy you've caused is incomprehensible."

The man's attorney, James Wright, said Hunter was not impaired, and had never used any controlled substance. Wright said his client may not have still been capable of driving, especially large vehicles, while aging.

He asked the judge to remember the life Hunter has led, saying he is a military veteran and retired school teacher. Now, the man thinks about the death he caused "all day long, every day."

"This is something ... he did not plan — to be spending his golden years in this way with dealing with these emotions and the feelings of regret and guilt," the attorney said.

According to Wright, his client always wanted to take responsibility and not cause any additional harm to the family.

Deputy Utah County attorney Mikelle Daugherty said the tragedy has ripple effects, causing suffering not just to family but to people who saw what happened or came to the scene and stayed with Dalton, who have been significantly impacted even though they did not know him.

Tyler Gibbs said his son was the seventh of seven children; five of them were present in the courtroom, while another is beginning service as a missionary. Their natural instinct would be to want Hunter to suffer, like they do, he said, but "by the grace of God" the family was able to avoid that. He said they don't want to perpetuate their pain, and cannot imagine inflicting the same intense pain on others.

"As a family, we are choosing forgiveness above vengeance, because that is where freedom comes. We are placing our trust in God and praying for healing," the father said.

Hunter was initially charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and leaving the scene of an accident involving death, a third-degree felony. The manslaughter charge was reduced as part of a plea deal.

Charging documents said at least two witnesses were honking and waving trying to get Hunter to stop, and Dalton was dragged about 50 feet. When he was later found, Hunter said he knew he had hit a bicycle, but did not think there was a child on it.