Hit-and-run driver dies after crashing into Kearns home


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KEARNS — Police are investigating what caused a car accident that left a man dead after crashing his vehicle into a Kearns home on Saturday, but witnesses said alcohol may have been a factor.

Before the man crashed into the house at 5854 S. 4480 West, he left a path of destruction in the neighborhood.

Police were still on scene late Saturday evening where a white SUV ended up and said the incident started with a hit-and-run when the driver hit a blue pickup head-on with two people inside, a witness said.

The woman inside the vehicle said her boyfriend, who was driving, got out of the car and could smell alcohol on the breath of the driver of the white SUV.

"He was begging my boyfriend not to call the cops because he already had a DUI," the woman, who asked not to be identified, said.

The couple followed the man after he drove off and saw him hit poles and a parked car.

The chase ended when the driver hit the house of Earlene Seipel.

"I called my son and said, Gary, get over here, I need you," said Seipel. "Somebody hit our house and I know he's dead."

When asked how fast she thought the driver was going before running into the house, Seipel said, "He hit at full throttle, he had to have."

Seipel said no one in the house was injured during the incident. Despite the damage, she and her husband were able to stay in their home.

Police said they are investigating to see if alcohol was indeed a factor in the accident.

Authorities have not yet released the man's identity.

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Sandra Yi

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