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SOUTH SALT LAKE — A suspected drug dealer who investigators say caused a fatal crash after being awake for a full week during a cocaine binge has been unable to reach a resolution in his court case.
Kyle Edward Anderson, 29, of Salt Lake City, was charged Oct. 12 in 3rd District Court with three counts of drug distribution, a first-degree felony; two counts of DUI causing serious injury or death, a second-degree felony; possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor; and failure to stay in a lane, an infraction.
During a court hearing on Monday, Anderson was unable to come to a resolution with prosecutors, according to court documents, so a special setting preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 7.
On Oct. 3, Anderson was driving a 2004 Dodge Ram on State Street near 2850 South when he jumped the center median, drove into oncoming traffic and hit a Chevy SUV, according to charging documents. The impact from the collision caused the SUV to roll several times. The driver, Ellie Jane Brooks, was ejected and her vehicle landed on top of her, the charges state.
Several citizens came to Brooks' aid and lifted the SUV off of her, but she died from her injuries at a local hospital.
After hitting the SUV, Anderson's pickup truck then hit a Hyundai Sonata head-on, the charges state. The driver of that vehicle suffered a broken arm, cuts and bruises, according to court documents.
A witness who tried to help Anderson after the crashes noted that he was "passed out behind the wheel of the driver's seat and described him as, 'clearly intoxicated and unresponsive,'" according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed Wednesday.
When an officer arrived and "questioned (Anderson) about what had happened, (Anderson) repeated, 'I don't comprehend what is happening,'" the warrant states.
The charges state that the officer found baggies of heroin, meth and cocaine in Anderson's truck, as well as syringes and other paraphernalia, according to the charges.
At the hospital, Anderson admitted he "had recently relapsed on cocaine and had been awake for seven days," the charges state, but he kept nodding off.
"Anderson stated that he recalled nodding off while driving and believed that he may have fallen asleep," according to the charges.
Due to his prior drug-related convictions, prosecutors requested that Anderson be held on $500,000 bail.
