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SALT LAKE CITY — A man is facing charges after police say he caused a serious crash that left his fiancee with a severe brain injury and then claimed she was the one responsible.
Steven Ray Villiard, 32, of West Jordan, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with DUI causing serious injury, a second-degree felony; obstructing justice, a third-degree felony; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor.
On June 10, a Honda Civic traveling approximately 85 mph in a 40 mph zone ran a red light at the intersection of 5600 West and 7800 South about 11:10 p.m. and was hit by an SUV, according to charging documents.
A woman who was in the Honda was found unconscious with a severe head injury, the charges state. She was taken to a local hospital where “lifesaving surgery was performed,” according to the charges.
"She suffered a traumatic brain injury and is presently in physical therapy learning to walk and regain movement. (She) is also in speech therapy to regain her speech and is missing several years of her memory,” the charges state.
When police found Villiard he was “hysterical,” according to the charges. He told police he was in the passenger seat looking at his phone and that the woman, who he said was his fiancee, was driving when the crash happened.
But investigators later determined that the physical evidence did not support Villiard’s statements, according to charging documents. Namely, the impact was on the passenger side of the Honda and the woman's injuries were consistent with someone who would have been sitting in the passenger seat when the car was hit, the charges state.
Villiard, who told police he had two shots of alcohol that night, was also found to have cocaine and THC in his system, according to the charges.
Villiard is also a former Public Enemy No. 1 and was convicted in 2009 of attempted murder, for which he was sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison.
