- Regino Mateo Mendoza, 47, was charged Friday with automobile homicide in a fatal July crash.
- Mendoza's blood-alcohol content was 0.104%, and he attempted to flee, charging documents state.
- Oswaldo Chavez Segovia, 20, was also charged with leaving the scene of accident involving serious injury.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A second man has been charged in connection with a fatal three-car crash in July that claimed the life of a 25-year-old Tooele woman.
Regino Mateo Mendoza, 47, of Magna, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with automobile homicide, a second-degree felony; negligently operating a vehicle causing serious injury and obstruction of justice, third-degree felonies; not having auto insurance, a class C misdemeanor; and crossing the median, an infraction.
On July 13, West Valley police responded to a three-car crash on the Bacchus Highway near 5400 South.
"Upon arrival, officers were notified that the driver of a Toyota Corolla, identified as Madison Wagner, had been pronounced deceased on scene and that the passenger … had been transported to a local hospital in critical condition," according to charging documents.
Mendoza, who was driving a Mazda, was also taken to a local hospital in critical condition. He was found lying next to a Chevy Silverado and initially told police that he was a passenger in the back of the Silverado, the charges state.
"The investigation established that Mateo Mendoza was the driver of the Mazda and had been traveling north on (the Bacchus Highway) when he struck the cement median and hit a pole, causing him to travel into the southbound lane and collide with Wagner and (her passenger's) Toyota. The collision caused the Mazda's airbags to deploy and the Toyota to rotate. A few seconds later, the Chevrolet, driven by (Oswaldo) Chavez Segovia, struck the Toyota on the driver's side of the vehicle, causing both vehicles to travel down the embankment before coming to rest," according to the charges.
Prosecutors say Mendoza got out of his wrecked vehicle and tried to flee the area before he collapsed 300 feet later. A blood test later revealed his blood-alcohol content at the time was 0.104%, the charges allege.
Chavez, the driver of the Chevy, also tried to walk away from the scene after the crash, according to his charges, but he was tracked down a short time later by police with K-9s.
In July, Chavez, 20, was arrested and later charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death and failing to stop at a serious injury accident, third-degree felonies; obstruction of justice and making a false statement, class A misdemeanors; and not having a driver's license, an infraction.
