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SALT LAKE CITY — A Riverton man has been charged with severely injuring his brother and then twice leaving him on the side of the road.
Zachary Alan Mechling, 27, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with mayhem and aggravated assault, second-degree felonies; plus aggravated assault and obstructing justice, third-degree felonies.
On Nov. 17, Mechling, his girlfriend, and his brother were driving in his Ford F-350 when the brother and the girlfriend got into a fight. Mechling then got involved, grabbed the woman's neck, threw her out of the truck near 162 W. Bangerter Highway after the truck had stopped, and then drove away, according to charging documents.
About 15 minutes later, police found Mechling's brother lying in the shoulder near 2116 W. 15000 South "with a large amount of blood coming from his face and neck area," the charges state.
Police say Mechling and his brother had gotten into a fight after leaving Mechling's girlfriend. At one point, Mechling allegedly bit his brother's chin. Investigators noted that "a chunk of skin was missing from his chin."
After being pushed out of the truck, the brother was either run over or dragged along the side of the vehicle, according to the charges.
Mechling left his brother on the side of the road and then went to look for his girlfriend. When he drove back past his brother, other motorists had stopped to help. He asked a bystander if the brother was OK, then drove off, the charges state.
Related:
Man bit brother's face, ran over his head, police say
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.Mechling, who allegedly told investigators that he was scared he had hurt his brother bad, told his father that his brother was hurt.
The brother was not breathing on his own when he was taken to the hospital, according to police. He suffered numerous fractures and cuts to his face and neck and surgery was required to "repair a complicated laceration extending to the left corner of his mouth and going through his lips," the charges state.
Bail was set at $150,000.
