- Jacob Clair Huff, serving one to 15 years for automobile homicide, seeks parole.
- Huff, while under the influence, caused a fatal crash in April 2021, killing Spencer Wilson.
SALT LAKE CITY — Jacob Clair Huff admits that in 2021, he was stuck in addiction and not making good choices in his life.
"At that time, I was in the middle of addiction for sure," he said Tuesday. "Thought I was functioning, but I was just fooling myself. … I wasn't in a good spot."
Today, he says he has grown and has worked on addressing the root causes of his destructive behavior.
Huff, who will turn 41 at the end of the week, is serving a sentence of one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for automobile homicide. Sentencing guidelines suggest he be released in 2027.
Tuesday, Huff went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time.
Huff was on his way to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting on April 20, 2021, but was under the influence of meth and alcohol when he smashed into the back of a Nissan Sentra stopped at a traffic light at 620 S. 500 East in American Fork. Investigators did not observe any evidence of braking prior to Huff's Chevrolet Trailblazer crashing into the rear of the Sentra.
Huff was traveling an estimated 60 mph when he hit 31-year-old Spencer Wilson. Wilson remained in a coma for nearly a month before he died. He was survived by his wife, who was expecting their first child.
"I was not in the right state of mind to make smart decisions," Huff said.
Huff was in the Utah County Jail when he learned that Wilson had died.
"It's devastating. I had no right to be out there. And I was selfishly thinking that my decisions weren't going to affect anyone else. And then to hear his wife was pregnant ... I think about that all the time," he said Tuesday.
Since his incarceration, Huff says he has been trying to find ways to help Wilson's family. For now, he said the "only thing I can do in here is change my behavior and work on myself."
Huff has been taking classes while in prison about thinking processes and how he used to act on his emotions and how those bad behaviors would become habits. He said he was "being reactive ... going from one problem to the other and covering it up with substances" rather than actually solving the problem.
Since the crash, Huff says his goal has been to "grow and leave here a better version."
Board member Greg Johnson acknowledged Tuesday that Huff has "made good use of your time" while incarcerated, but would likely need intensive out-patient treatment once he is released.
The full five-member board will now vote on whether to grant parole or set a date for a future hearing.
