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MILLCREEK — A pair of unrelated crashes in Salt Lake County on Monday sent two people to the hospital — one in critical condition — and landed another in jail.
Unified police were first called to the intersection of 700 East and Empire Avenue (3400 South) about 1:45 a.m. where a car hit another vehicle, causing the second vehicle to roll.
"It is believed the suspect vehicle was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed during the time of the incident due to the damage sustained by victim vehicle, surrounding property damage and (the) distance (the) suspect vehicle travelled before coming to a stop," a police booking affidavit states.
One person in the victim's vehicle was taken to a local hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. A second person was treated at the scene, according to police.
The car that police say hit them was located in a nearby backyard. After the collision, the car went through a fence on the corner and then "went through the yard destroying plants, pots, and the frame of a greenhouse" before going through a second fence and coming to a stop in another yard, the affidavit says.
Police say Mauricio Alfredo Torres Gonzales, 23, left the scene of the crash but was located a short time later and arrested. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of failing to remain at the scene of a crash involving injury, not having a license and reckless driving.
Less than four hours later, Unified police officers responded to another serious crash on 8000 West near 3100 South in Magna. A pickup truck was backing out of a driveway when it was T-boned by a Toyota Corolla. The 35-year-old man driving the Toyota was taken to a local hospital in extremely critical condition. Police say he has since been updated to "critical but stable."
