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UPDATE: The man who died was identified as 60-year-old James Wallberg, of Caronville, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
SALT LAKE CITY — Police arrested a woman who was allegedly involved in a fatal auto-pedestrian accident in Helper and then drove off because she was scared.
Mary Olivia Hart, 28, was booked into the Carbon County Jail on Sunday for investigation of failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving death, obstruction of justice, negligent homicide, marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a denied license.
About 1:15 p.m. Sunday, a man was hit by a car at the intersection of U.S. 6 and Poplar Street in Helper, according to a police affidavit.
“The evidence on scene shows that the pedestrian may have been close to the fog line, but was clearly outside of the lane of travel,” the affidavit states.
While Utah Highway Patrol troopers were on scene investigating the fatal accident, a woman called 911 to report that there was a person lying on the ground in that area and that someone should check it out, the affidavit states.
Investigators recovered debris from a white vehicle at the scene and noticed a white Toyota Tacoma with front end damage drive by a short time later on U.S. 6, according to the affidavit. A trooper pulled the vehicle over and found Hart was driving, according to the affidavit.
A piece of the Tacoma’s front fender was spotted inside the vehicle, the trooper noted in his affidavit.
“The driver (informed the trooper) that she had stopped, after hitting the person, and removed a loose piece of plastic from the vehicle and placed it inside the vehicle,” according to the affidavit. “While taking pictures of the damage on the vehicle the passenger side mirror had been broken off, and there was visible remnants of hair embedded in the A-pillar and windshield on the passenger side.”
Hart told investigators she was driving from Price to Helper “and when she turned off the highway that she struck a person. (Troopers) asked why she did not stop and she said she got scared and drove away,” according to the affidavit. “(Troopers asked) Mary again why she left the scene, and she said that she knew she hit a person and just freaked out and drove away.”
Hart told troopers she was on her phone prior to the crash, “but did not believe she was on it when the crash occurred. She went on to say that she could have been changing the radio station when she hit the person,” the affidavit states.
Marijuana was also found in the vehicle and Hart admitted to smoking some the night before, according to the affidavit.
The name of the man killed was not immediately released.
