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DELTA — Utah Highway Patrol troopers investigating a fatal auto-bicycle crash in June no longer believe it was the result of distracted driving.
On June 18 about 11:15 a.m., a 72-year-old man was bicycling with his wife on state Route 50 near Delta when he was clipped by a teen driver, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in 4th District Court.
After further investigation, UHP Lt. Todd Royce said it appeared the bicycle may have been slightly in the lane of the oncoming car.
After the collision, witnesses saw the 16-year-old driver "throw (his) cellphone into the bushes at the crash scene," the warrant states.
That behavior raised the suspicion of troopers who recovered the phone and served a search warrant on it to see if the phone was being used at the time of the crash. Royce said Tuesday that tests did not find any evidence the phone was being used at the time of the crash.
It was not known Tuesday why the teen threw his phone or whether it was simply a case of being upset because of the accident.
