A 24-year-old man was killed Thursday when a 15-year-old boy reportedly driving a stolen car lost control in a West Valley City neighborhood and struck the man, who was standing outside, before plowing into a house, police said.
Just after 7 p.m., an officer first spotted the stolen car at 3100 S. Redwood Road and began following it in an unmarked police car., West Valley City police said.
The stolen vehicle then turned west onto 3100 South before stopping in the area of Lehi Drive and Beaver Street, police said. As the driver and two passengers got out of the car, officers “converged on the vehicle.”
The passengers — a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy — ran, and were soon taken into custody. But the driver — a 15-year-old boy — got back in the car and began to drive away, police said.
An officer threw spike strips onto the roadway to try and deflate the stolen vehicle’s tires, police said. The car hit a patrol car and struck the spike strips, but did not stop.
A few hundred yards away, the driver lost control, veering off the road and driving through a yard near 3300 Lehi Drive. The car then continued through a second yard, where Adrian Hernandez-Rodriguez was standing when he was struck and killed.
(West Valley City Police Department) A 15-year-old boy was arrested after he allegedly drove a stolen car into the yard on the right — after hitting the house on the left and killing a man who was standing in front of it.
It’s unclear if the deployment of police spike strips contributed to the driver apparently losing control of the vehicle and striking Hernandez-Rodriguez.
After fatally striking the man, the teenage driver plowed into the front of a house before continuing into the next yard, police said.
There, he hit two more cars before the stolen vehicle came to a stop, police said. He then got out of the car and laid down on the ground, surrendering to police.
The stolen car also sheared off the gas meter at the house it struck, causing a gas leak that forced the evacuation of several homes in the area, police said. After crews capped off the leak, residents were able to return to their homes.
The teenager was taken to a hospital to be treated for “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to police. He was later booked into juvenile detention Friday on suspicion of failing to stop at the command of an officer causing injury; hit and run; possession of stolen vehicle; aggravated assault; driving without a license; and failing to maintain control of vehicle.
Police said Hernandez-Rodriguez was not a resident of the home he was standing in front of when he was hit.
