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John Daley ReportingA car collides with a student on a busy road. Police call it a hit and run and are trying to figure out if it was intentional.
Emilio Cardenas, Hunter High Junior: "You don't just hit a kid and go a block away for no reason."
A teenage student was killed in that impact. It's something a number of students saw, as they walked home from their first day of school.
Police say the driver was impaired by alcohol and they are charging him with automobile homicide, a charge that could be elevated as the police investigation continues.
On 5600 West, which was closed to all traffic, a pair of sneakers marks one crime scene. At the other, a car with its windshield smashed in, a fence blown apart., a twisted road sign.
West Valley Police say a 15-year-old boy was on his bike, on the side of the road, talking with two friends when he was struck by the car.
He never saw it coming and died at the scene.
Capt. Steve Sandquist, West Valley Police Dept.: "He was talking to friends as close as you and I were. A witness described it as feeling the wind of the car coming by carrying the kids and the bicycle away."
The driver took off and raced through a nearby neighborhood until he crashed his car. He then bolted on foot, and was spotted by a mom in her car with two kids in the back. She called police and he was arrested.
Police say they're charging 21-year-old Jeremy Ryan Reed with automobile homicide. Witnesses saw the man throw alcohol bottles out of his car, and police say he was impaired.
The question, they say, is was it intentional?
Capt. Steve Sandquist, West Valley Police Dept.: "Several of our witnesses say he intentionally went after these kids."
It was the first day of school and students, some who came across the scene on the way home from school, say they are stunned.
Casey Clark, Hunter High Junior: "If you know one person in school, then you know everyone at school. Everybody's going to know about it. We've never had anything this bad."
Eva Petersen, Hunter High Sophomore: "Who would do something like that? How would the family--- I mean their kid just started high school and now he's dead."
The victim's name has not been released. Police say the boy went to Hunter Junior High School, not Hunter High, as they earlier believed.
****************** Police say a 15-year-old Hunter High sophomore was deliberately mowed down and killed by a 21-year-old hit-and-run driver. It happened just after school got out this afternoon.
It initially started as an accident on 5600 West and 4500 South. Police say the driver of the car was going north on 5600 West and deliberately hit a young man riding his bike on the side of the road. Witnesses say they actually saw the driver swerve to hit the bicyclist.
Steve Sandquist, West Valley Police Dept.: "Witnesses report seeing this vehicle leave the roadway and intentionally drive towards this kid."
The street was closed to traffic. It happened shortly after the first day of school. High school and junior high students returning home from school witnessed the accident.
Casey Clark, Junior, Hunter High School: "Everybody's going to know about it. We've never had something this bad."
Police are treating this as a homicide and say alcohol may be a factor. They have not identified anyone involved, but do say the victim is a 15-year-old Hunter High School sophomore, and the suspect is a 21-year-old.
Police say after the suspect wrecked the car, he took off running through a neighborhood before being taken into custody by police.
