Husband of local bakery owner Thy Vu says crash that killed her shouldn’t have happened

Thy Hoang Vu was many things, said her husband – a local bakery co-founder, marketing manager, and mentor to dozens of people and businesses in the Salt Lake area.

But first she was the mother of her two sons.

Vu, 33, was killed Saturday when an alleged drunk driver crashed into her vehicle near 500 North and 1200 West during a police chase through the west side of Salt Lake City, police said. A close friend of hers was also seriously injured in the crash, which is still being investigated.

Tripp Mims, Vu’s 10 year old husband, still can’t believe the crash happened. But he thinks it shouldn’t have happened at all.

“I still can’t understand how this was allowed to happen in Salt Lake City or any other city,” Mims said. “This street looks very, very similar to the street I live on. It’s our neighborhood and our church, and I’m just amazed that this has happened in our church. “

Prior to the crash, North Salt Lake Police received an initial report on Saturday lunchtime of two men handing a bottle of whiskey back and forth while one was driving a Ford F-250, officials said. Officials located the truck on US Route 89 and began a chase.

The truck then drove on Interstate 15 and drove into the Salt Lake area before crashing into Vu’s vehicle in the Fairpark neighborhood as the truck tried to escape police. The 39-year-old driver of the truck and his passenger were seriously injured.

Police arrested the driver Tuesday on suspicion of criminal killing of a car, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a revoked or revoked license, speeding, failure to respect the right of way, reckless driving and other alleged criminal offenses. He was admitted to the Salt Lake County Jail, where he stayed as of Thursday.

The suspect had previously been charged with drinking under the influence of driving in September and had been convicted of DUI twice in the past 10 years, court documents show.

Last month’s DUI fee followed a reckless driving call. At the time, the suspect had a blood alcohol level of 0.24%, documents show, nearly five times the Utah legal limit. In his vehicle, the investigators found an open container with vodka, the files say.

Mentor to many

Vu and her husband founded their “cottage bakery” Mims SLC at the beginning of the pandemic, after Mims had been on leave from his job as sous chef at the Alamexo restaurant in the city center. Some of his favorite memories of Vu come from the pop-up events the couple held for their baked goods, where he could see how Vu was in touch with his customers.

“I would make fun of them and say, you know … those 15 people in line are only buying a baguette because they can talk to you,” Mims said is true because I’m just finding out how many people she looks after Has.”

Prior to Mims SLC, Vu worked as a marketing manager at Salt Lake Community College. Mims said she made an effort to mentor young women, particularly Asian American women, black women and indigenous women, noting that she “has made real progress over the past five years”.

“She just got her Masters degree from Arizona State University, worked in higher education in the Salt Lake community for the past five years or so knowing I could make more money elsewhere, but the fact that the Tuition fees are affordable here was very important to them, ”said Mims.

While balancing her job and mentees, she also taught wisdom beyond her years to her sons aged 10 and 5, he said. The family had recently moved to a new house while expanding their bakery.

“They are simply the most intellectually mature, emotionally mature, [children] I’ve ever met, so it was intimidating, “Mims said, and later added,” I have to have my details ready when they ask me questions because they teach me if I’m wrong. “

As the daughter of Vietnamese refugees who ended up in Utah, Vu also worked with several refugee charities and was particularly involved in resettling Afghan refugees in Utah.

“She didn’t complain about it – she went and did something about it,” Mims said. “She used the bread and the bakery as an outlet. She saw, yes, that provides food – that provides comfort, but there is more we can do. And that was all. “

‘It’s just me and yours’

To honor his wife, Mims said he is making positive changes in his life – from thoughtful daily promotions to organizing fundraisers. One of the last things the couple did together was go to Costco to buy essentials for vulnerable high school students whose belongings were destroyed in a flood.

He hopes that those who wish to remember Vu will find similar positive deeds in their daily lives. He said the support his family has received has been “overwhelming”.

“I had no idea how many people Thy talked to about our work every day,” Mims said. “I mean, she was talking about business, but she was looking at herself in a very human and relatable way that I never really met and I just had no idea how big that was behind her the scenes. “

“We’re a very, very small company. It’s me and yours It’s us both, ”he said. “I didn’t know what her grand vision of Mims was so much bigger than mine. … But I think the amount of community support just shows you how strong our communities are and how big the loss was. “

A silent online auction in favor of Vu’s family will run until 7pm on Saturday. Items listed include beeswax candles, jewelry, quilts, custom tattoos, nail art and more, according to the Instagram account @livelikethy.

A family friend also set up a GoFundMe page for any expenses Mims or her two sons might have. The fund raised more than $ 70,000 as of Thursday.

– Tribune reporter Kolbie Peterson contributed to this story.