Man arrested in hit-and-run that critically injured skateboarder


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WEST VALLEY CITY — West Valley police arrested a man suspected in a hit-and-run crash that left a skateboarder critically injured last week.

Joseph Crecencio Granados, 32, was the man behind the wheel of the car that struck 21-year-old Justin Manual Armendariz on the evening of Nov. 11, police said. Witnesses described Granados’s driving as “sporadic” and reported watching him hit a curb and lose a bumper.

Armendariz was riding a skateboard on the shoulder near 4000 West and 4200 South when he was hit. The impact sent him flying 180 feet down the road, police said. Granados took off before police arrived.

Just before that crash, Granados was involved in a separate hit and run collision — this time, with a vehicle — at 4561 S. 4000 West, police said. Officers located the car, a 1997 gold Acura, several blocks away.

After talking to witnesses, police identified Granados as a person of interest in both cases, and further investigation revealed he was the driver of the Acura. Officers arrested Granados Friday afternoon at his Kearns home.

Granados was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on felony charges of hit and run and DUI. He also faces a reckless driving charge, along with several other traffic offenses.

Court records show that Granados has a violent criminal past. In 1999 he was sentenced to one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison for attempted criminal homicide and vehicle theft, according to court records. In 2011 he was again sentenced to up to five years at the Utah State Prison for his conviction of assault causing substantial bodily injury and attempting to possess items prohibited in a correctional or health facility, according to court records.

Granados was released from prison in May.

As of Friday, Armendariz remained in a medically-induced coma and was listed in critical but stable condition. He suffered injuries to his leg and head.

Contributing: Natalie Crofts and Pat Reavy

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