Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Two people are facing criminal charges tying them to a hit-and-run crash that caused fatal injuries to a pedestrian in Salt Lake City, and then accusing them of trying to hide the car that hit the victim.
Ashtin Quarnberg, 18, of West Jordan, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving death, a third-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a class A misdemeanor. Brayden Herring, 21, of West Valley City, was charged with obstruction of justice, a class A misdemeanor.
On Oct. 25, just before 8 p.m., Lisa Knight, 60, was hit by a car while crossing State Street at 700 South, according to charging documents. Witnesses told police that the vehicle that hit her was last seen driving toward the Capitol building.
Using nearby surveillance video, detectives were able to identify the registered owner of the vehicle and were then led to Quarnberg.
Quarnberg told police he was headed to the Capitol when he suddenly saw Knight and tried to swerve out of the way, according to the charges.
"(He) knew he hit her and didn't know what to do so he kept driving. Quarnberg stated that his light was green," the charges state.
A woman who was in the car with Quarnberg told police she kept telling him to turn the car around after allegedly hitting Knight. Instead, they parked not far from the crash and Quarnberg called Herring, who told him to report the car as stolen, according to the charges.
The next morning, police say they took the car to a gated apartment complex, removed the license plate and covered the vehicle with a tarp.
"Detectives responded to the address provided by Quarnberg and located his vehicle under a tarp and the rear license plate had been removed from the vehicle," according to charging documents.
Herring was in the Utah County Jail on Monday on an extradition warrant out of Georgia for a charge of robbery, court documents state.
