PRESTON — A 25-year-old man has been alive since he fled in Franklin County on Oct. 16.
Christopher James Ward of Smithfield, Utah, has been charged with felonies for leaving the scene of a twist of fate that resulted in serious injuries and for destroying evidence, according to court documents.
RELATED | Utah Man Arrested in Hit-and-Run Accident involving Bicyclist
Idaho State Police crashed and fled at 4800 South in Franklin County around 9:30 p. m. , according to a probable cause affidavit. The vehicle had left the area.
Police reports show that a vehicle had veered off the road before colliding with the bicyclist.
“Evidence at the scene indicates that (the victim) hit, shot out of his bicycle, and arrived here to rest in a cornfield on the north side of the road,” the reports said.
Soldiers stockpiled parts from a vehicle they believed were involved in the incident and discovered the vehicle, a 2015-2018 Volkswagen Jetta. ISP requested the public’s help in their search for a car that matched the description and with damage to the front.
The ISP notified that a gray 2017 Jetta left at a collision repair center in Smithfield, Utah.
Infantrymen joined Smithfield Police Department officers at the repair center, where they discovered the Jetta. In the reports, responding officers noted that the Jetta had suffered “serious injuries” on the driver’s side, a damaged windshield and “strong” injuries at the front. Officers also noticed a movement of red paint to the obvious effect domain that matched the color of the motorcycle involved in the hit-and-run.
Officers discovered the Jetta checked in with Ward and received a seizure warrant, taking the car to gather evidence.
The fixed media told officials that the Jetta departed from there on the night of Oct. 16, between 4:30 p. m. and 4:30 p. m. and 10 p. m. m. Ward called the spotlight the next day and told the company that the Jetta had been involved in a collision with a deer.
Detectives returned to the scene of the collision and decided that the Jetta had left the scene using US Highway 91.
About six miles from the scene of the collision, officials discovered a bicycle wheel and leg that they decided were involved in the collision. Police reports show the bicycle wheel was dragged under a car before falling and becoming close to the road. .
Officers received a search warrant to collect the seized Jetta in Utah.
While in the car, officers discovered what they believed was human soft tissue on the front driver’s side, blood and hair on the driver’s door and hair on the windshield. Officers also discovered empty liquor bottles inside the car.
An officer spoke with Ward by phone. He told the officer he had struck a deer on Oct. 15. When asked where the deer effect occurred, Ward said it happened in Utah, but he wasn’t sure of the exact location. .
The officer noted in the reports that it was “clear” that Ward was not telling the fact of their argument.
Other officials spoke to witnesses, who said Ward had been drinking while playing golf early on Oct. 16. A witness told officials they saw Ward driving the Jetta on Oct. 15, saying it was in “perfect condition. “he told officials that Ward wouldn’t let anyone drive his car.
Officers were given a search warrant to draw blood from the victim. Speaking with medical staff at the Utah hospital where the victim was being treated, officers learned the victim was on a ventilator and had been alive since the collision. Staff told police the victim had suffered “serious injuries and fractures to his limbs,” had “very few” reflexes and suffered “severe bleeding (in) the brain. “
Detectives spoke with a business near the intersection of 4800 South and Highway 91 and received surveillance footage from Oct. 16.
In the footage, officials saw a car matching Ward’s Jetta moving east on 4800 South “at full speed” just before 4:45 p. m.
Officers and the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office felt they had enough evidence to have an arrest warrant for Ward.
He was arrested Oct. 26 by Smithfield police and taken to the Cache County Jail.
Although Ward was charged with those crimes, that doesn’t necessarily mean he committed them. All are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted, Ward faces up to 15 years in prison.
An initial hearing was canceled and Ward bound the district court on either charge. He was arrested through U. S. District Judge Mitchell Brown on Nov. 10.