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PAYSON — Eight years after a hit-and-run crash left a teenager dead on a country road between Salem and Payson, investigators were hoping someone out there was still holding the critical clue to help solve the case.
Nathan Haun, 17, was walking home along Arrowhead Trail between Salem and Payson early in the morning of July 13, 2013, when he was struck by a truck and killed, investigators said.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff's Office said Monday that the truck was believed to have been traveling at least 70 miles per hour when it impacted Haun.
"It's a narrow, two-lane road," Cannon observed. "Even 40 miles-per-hour is pretty quick for this road."
Cannon said Haun had been returning from a party and there was apparently a disagreement there. "We assumed that whatever happened was enough to make him feel like, 'I'm not going to wait around for my ride,'" Cannon said.
Cannon said while it was unknown if that had any bearing on what happened, or if Haun had any enemies who wished him harm, based on the circumstances of the case, investigators now believe it was "likely" Haun was hit intentionally.
"His injuries were significant enough that it's very likely someone did this to him on purpose," Cannon said.
After analyzing vehicle remnants left at the scene, investigators believed the vehicle that hit Haun was a Dodge pickup from model years 1994 to 2002 — likely 1994.
Anybody with information in the case was asked to contact the Utah County Sheriff's Office at 801-794-3970.
"It's possible even that somebody may realize that they know something about this that they didn't realize before," Cannon said. "We don't expect that this one will go unsolved forever, but we just haven't been able to solve it yet."
