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SALT LAKE CITY — The driver of a vehicle was arrested Sunday after police say he crashed while fleeing from officers, resulting in the death of his front seat passenger.
Josue Yahir Hernandez-Perez, 20, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of manslaughter, failing to respond to an officer's signal to stop resulting in death, reckless driving and not having a license.
About 12:16 a.m. Sunday, Salt Lake police responded to a shooting near 900 S. State. Officers arriving on scene reported spotting a car leaving the the area "at a high rate of speed, eastbound on 900 South."
Believing there may be people in the vehicle connected to the shooting, officers attempted to pull the vehicle over and then chased it when the driver refused to stop.
The fleeing car crashed as it tried to speed through a roundabout at 1100 East and 900 South and failed to make a turn. The car "went over a center median, a sidewalk, and into a grassy lawn. The vehicle was also observed to not be on any of its four wheels as those did not appear to make contact with the ground," a police booking affidavit states.
Douglas Rodriguez, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer-involved critical incident protocol was invoked and West Valley police were called to investigate the fatal crash.
When detectives interviewed Hernandez-Perez, he said he and the victim had met up earlier that evening and attended a party together. The time and location of the party matched the information Salt Lake police received about the shooting, the affidavit states.
"Josue confirmed his vehicle was a black Mercedes sedan, which also matched the description given for the suspect vehicle," the affidavit says.
According to police, Hernandez-Perez told detectives that Rodriguez "began to get anxious" when police started arriving, and asked him to flee the area.
The 20-year-old shooting victim was taken to a local hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening.
The shooting is believed to have happened following a large party near 880 S. Edison Street. Police are asking anyone who took pictures or recorded video of the events leading up to, during and after the shooting to contact them at 801-799-3000.
