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TOQUERVILLE, Washington County — A Cedar City man faces homicide and DUI charges in connection with a double-fatal crash over the weekend.
Dyllon Marc Mercado, 22, was charged Monday in 5th District Court with two counts of third-degree felony automobile homicide and one count of DUI, a class B misdemeanor, for allegedly driving drunk and causing a crash with a semitrailer near Toquerville on Saturday that killed two men.
Matthew Chavez, 26, and Nigel J. Chavez, 25, both of Cedar City, died on impact. Police say the two men were passengers in a Pontiac Grand Prix that Mercado drove into the back of the semitrailer around 4 a.m.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, Mercado and the semitrailer driver both pulled over after driving about another mile and called police.
The UHP described the crash in a prepared statement over the weekend, noting the semitrailer was "slow-moving."
"The driver of the Grand Prix swerved to the left to avoid the (semitrailer), but was too late," the agency said. "The Grand Prix struck the left side of the trailer and its steel rear bumper with the passenger side of the Grand Prix. The impact from the trailer tore through the Grand Prix, killing the male front passenger and right rear passenger on impact."
Charges allege that Mercado "smelled of alcohol and had admitted to drinking and driving" to Washington County sheriff's deputies, who were the first emergency responders to arrive.
"I asked (Mercado) if he had been drinking and he stated he had. I asked him how much alcohol he had consumed. He stated 'enough,'" a UHP investigator reported in court documents.
Police conducted five types of field sobriety tests on Mercado at the scene, with each of them indicating he had been drinking, according to his charges. He was arrested and taken into custody.
He later took a breath test that revealed his blood alcohol content level to be .118, exceeding the legal limit of .08, court documents allege.
The UHP says Mercado also submitted to a urine test, though the results of that test were not listed Monday in court documents.
Mercado was not injured in the collision, police said.
Jail records show Mercado had bailed out of jail as of late Monday night. His initial court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 19.
