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SALT LAKE COUNTY -- A Millcreek man has admitted to hitting a bicyclist on Wasatch Boulevard, stopping to look at the victim who was critically injured, then driving off and leaving him for dead. Regardless of that, sheriff's deputies say he won't face felony charges.
"The most we could charge this particular person with was a class A misdemeanor," said Lt. Don Hutson, spokesman for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Utah does have a new law that makes leaving the scene of an accident a felony, but 28-year-old Nicholas Murdock fled the scene of this accident before the new law was signed by Gov. Jon Huntsman.
"There's no reason to leave the scene of an accident to try to get out of trouble," said Hutson.
However, investigators say that is most likely the reason Murdock drove off after hitting a bicyclist on Wasatch Boulevard, then hiding his damaged car in his mom's garage.
Murdock told investigators he was scared, but they haven't ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash. Had he stayed at the scene and failed a sobriety test, he'd be facing a harsher penalty.
His next-door neighbor says drinking is nothing new for Murdock. "I'm not surprised. People who drink all the time, that's the result of it," Zarlasht Rahimi said. "I could never fall asleep on the weekends or the weekdays. They're always having parties. They're always really loud too."
If you look at Murdock's MySpace page, you could reach similar conclusions. From his pictures, it appears he enjoys the partying lifestyle, likes to travel and has lots of friends.
The 57-year-old bicyclist is still in the hospital a week later, though he's now in stable condition. Without good witnesses and good investigative work, deputies probably wouldn't have caught Murdock.
It was a witness who told deputies the car was a BMW 335i -- he knew that because of the dual exhaust. Another witness told them the registration sticker was red.
Investigators used that information to narrow it down, and that's when they got real lucky. "That is when we pulled up Google Earth and Google Maps and saw in some of the aerial footage from the satellite that, yes, in fact, this white BMWi is connected to that address," Hutson explained.
Authorities are looking into filing charges against the female who was riding with Murdock that night for not contacting police. As for charging his mother with hiding the vehicle, investigators think she believed her son's story that he had hit a deer.
Murdock is now in jail, charged with leaving the scene of an accident, tampering with evidence, and obstruction of justice. If investigators can prove he was drinking that night, he could face additional charges.
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Story compiled with contributions from Courtney Orton and Alex Cabrero.
