Hans Anderson, 45, died after a side-by-side rollover above Hobble Creek Canyon, where another passenger was seriously injured.
SPRINGVILLE, UT — A Utah family is mourning a father, brother and new grandfather who died in a side-by-side rollover in the mountains above Hobble Creek Canyon, leaving three daughters who had already lost their mother.
Hans Anderson, 45, died from injuries suffered Oct. 31 when the off-road vehicle he was riding in rolled in the Strawberry Ridge area of Utah County. The crash was reported shortly before 9 p.m., according to information from the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. A woman riding with Anderson was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, but authorities said her injuries were not considered life-threatening.
The crash has brought another major loss for Anderson’s daughters. His sister, Janae Watson, told KSL that the girls’ mother died eight years ago. Anderson’s youngest daughter is 14. Family members are now focused on helping the three daughters cope with the loss of their father and the responsibilities and changes that follow.
Investigators said shortly after the crash that Anderson and the woman were the only two people in the side-by-side. Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Ormond said the vehicle rolled in the Strawberry Ridge area above Hobble Creek Canyon. The cause of the crash remained under investigation in the initial report released the following day.
Watson described her brother as an experienced outdoorsman who spent much of his time in the mountains. She said his death in a side-by-side accident was especially difficult for relatives to understand because riding off-road vehicles had long been part of his life.
As the family prepared for Anderson’s funeral, relatives selected photographs showing the parts of his life they most wanted to remember: his family and the outdoors. Watson said Anderson was someone relatives could depend on and described him as a brother who was always available when family members needed him.
Anderson had also recently entered a new stage of family life. Watson said he became a grandfather during the past year. Family photographs shared after his death showed him with his daughters, son-in-law and other relatives, documenting a family that was still growing before the fatal crash.
For Watson, attention has also turned to her nieces and the support their father would have provided as they grew older. She said the daughters are struggling with the loss and that relatives are trying to help them through a situation made more painful by the earlier death of their mother.
Family members have found some comfort in Anderson’s connection to the place where he died. Watson said the mountains were an important part of his life and that he spent much of the late summer and fall outdoors. She said knowing he was in a setting he loved has helped relatives as they grieve, even as they continue to struggle with the sudden nature of his death.
A fundraising effort was established to help Anderson’s daughters after the crash. Authorities had not publicly announced a final cause of the rollover in the reports reviewed for this story. The woman who was injured was expected to survive based on the sheriff’s initial description of her condition.
Author note: Last updated November 14, 2026.