SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A San Juan County man was sentenced on Wednesday after he crashed a stolen truck and caused the death of the five-year-old passenger in 2022, according to the District Attorney’s office.

Qwana McCook, 30, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, five years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution. McCook admitted to stealing a truck from a victim — whose five-year-old daughter was in the backseat — and crashing it, which ejected and killed the child.

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According to the Department of Justice, McCook pleaded guilty to first degree felony murder and robbery in March 2024. The crimes happened on the White Mesa Indian Reservation.

The DOJ said McCook took a vehicle from the victim’s mother without her permission while on the reservation. A press release said McCook did not return the child home, purchased alcohol and began to drink and drive.

When he crashed, he was speeding. The child was ejected after the crash and was declared dead at the scene.

“This case is a horrific reminder that carjackings threaten the lives of innocent victims” United States Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah said. “McCook’s senseless actions are reprehensible and caused the terrible death of a young girl.”

Higgins said her office will continue to “vigorously prosecute” those who threaten the communities of Utah with violence.

“McCook’s extremely selfish decisions that day will forever impact a family who is left grieving the loss of their young daughter,” Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha of the Salt Lake City FBI said.

McCook’s passenger and co-defendant pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony and will be sentenced at a later date.

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