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SILVER SUMMIT, Summit County — A Salt Lake man accused of rolling the stolen car he was driving while fleeing from police in Summit County — a crash that resulted in the death of his passenger — has now been charged with murder.
Charles Dwight Caster, 22, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, in addition to receiving a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony, and failing to stop for an officer, a third-degree felony.
Caster stole a car from a parking lot in Hideout, Wasatch County, on Sept. 22, according to police. About an hour later, a resident in Midway called police to report someone was trying to break into a vehicle. The burglars in that case drove off in a car that matched the description of the vehicle stolen from Hideout, according to a statement from the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
A Wasatch County sheriff's deputy searching for that vehicle spotted it on state Route 113. Deputies and Heber City police officers attempted to stop Caster as he "fled from the officers at a high rate of speed through Wasatch County eventually fleeing onto (U.S.) 40 where additional attempts were made to stop the defendant," charging documents state.
"Witnesses observed the suspect vehicle driving at a high rate of speed on (U.S.) 40 and passing other vehicles on the shoulder and narrowly missing numerous other vehicles as he fled," according to the charges.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper deployed tire spikes on U.S. 40. A Summit County sheriff's deputy then deployed a second set of spikes a few miles later. Caster swerved in an attempt to avoid the second spikes, causing the car he was driving to go off the road and roll several times, the charges say.
Both Caster and his passenger, Daisha Reynolds, 19, of Salt Lake City, were ejected. Reynolds was pronounced dead at the scene. Caster was flown to a hospital in Salt Lake City in critical condition.
"At the time of the crash, (Caster) was traveling at least between 92 and 103 mph," according to charging documents.
Prior to the crash, Caster had already been convicted several times of felony theft, attempted theft and fleeing from police, according to court records. In June, he was convicted of failing to stop for police and sentenced to six months in jail he had already served.
