Deputy Jeremiah K. Johnson is remembered by the Emery County Sheriff's Office for his dedication and honesty.
 "He was a very good person ? dedicated to his family, dedicated to his work. If he told you something, you could believe him," Sheriff LaMar Guymon said Tuesday night.
Guymon hired Johnson 6 1/2 years ago. But Tuesday morning, Johnson, 30, was killed in an accident. He was driving from Ferron to Castle Dale, where he was returning to the sheriff's office to check out for the day. It was the end of his shift, Guymon said.Johnson was driving his police vehicle, a 1999 Dodge Durango, north on U-10 near milepost 36 outside Orangeville about 6:30 a.m. His vehicle crossed the highway and struck a semitrailer truck, killing him, a Utah Highway Patrol statement said. The driver of the semi, Jeffery Scott Olson, 46, Price, received minor injuries. Both drivers were wearing seat belts. Excessive speed was not a factor. The UHP is determining why Johnson crossed into the south lane, UHP spokeswoman Tammy Palmer said.
"At this point there's no indication of why that happened," Palmer said. Johnson leaves behind a wife and three young children.

An Emery County sheriff's deputy finishing an overnight patrol shift was killed Tuesday morning when his vehicle crossed the center line into the path of coal truck. 
Jeremiah K. Johnson, 30, was northbound on state Route 10, a mile south of Castle Dale, when his sport utility vehicle collided with the southbound tractor-trailer at about 6:30 a.m., according to a Utah Highway Patrol report. 
Johnson was dead at the scene. The truck driver, Jeffery Scott Olson, 46, was treated for minor injuries at Castle View Hospital. Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon said it was unknown why Johnson crossed the center line. 
"We don't think he fell asleep," Guymon said, adding that the accident occurred on a sharp curve and that the sun was just coming up. 
Guymon said Johnson was returning to the Sheriff's Office in Castle Dale after a 12-hour patrol shift in the town of Green River. Johnson's shift ran from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. 
A member of the Sheriff's Office for 6 1/2 years, Johnson had helped start Emery County's drug court before taking the patrol assignment. 
A sheriff's news release called Johnson "a great asset to our office. He fulfilled his many responsibilities with honesty and integrity." 
Added Guymon: "If he told you something, you could believe it." 
Johnson, of Castle Dale, grew up in Emery County and his father is a former Emery County commissioner. 
He leaves behind a wife and three children.                             

-- Stephen Hunt  - Salt Lake Tribune