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BLUFFDALE — Police arrested a man who they say bit off a chunk of his adult brother's face, ran over his head and then twice left him on the side of the road in critical condition.
Zach Alan Mechling, 31, was arrested Friday for investigation of aggravated assault, mayhem, leaving the scene of an injury accident and tampering with evidence.
Mechling, his girlfriend and his brother had gone out for drinks earlier that evening, police said. On the way home, they all got into an argument. Mechling choked his girlfriend and then "kicked her out" of the truck in Draper, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
As the two brothers continued driving, police say they eventually resumed arguing and the disagreement became physical on Redwood Road in Bluffdale.
At some point during the confrontation, Mechling bit his brother's face, the report states.
"He bit the left side of his brother's chin and lip area. Zachary had hair from his brother's goatee in his mouth afterward, and his brother was bleeding significantly inside the vehicle," according to the report.
The brother got out of the truck and then attempted to get back in. But when he grabbed the door handle, Mechling "began speeding off," police wrote.
"It appeared Zachary's brother was pulled under the truck's back wheel and his head was run over," the report states. "Zachary's truck, a Ford F-350, appeared to have smashed the victim's head into the ground, pulling and dragging it across the ground for several feet and causing severe injuries."
Mechling allegedly drove off, but later returned to the area where his brother was run over. By this time, other passers-by had discovered him and called 911. Mechling saw this and drove off again, the report states.
Mechling drove home and told his father what had happened, police said. He then allegedly attempted to hide his truck in the back.
The father arrived at the scene after police had arrived. The brother was unconscious and unresponsive with severe head injuries, the report states. Mechling was later arrested.
