Prison ordered for man who used car to intentionally hit a pedestrian

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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City man was sentenced to prison on Friday for intentionally hitting a man with his car after getting angry over a broken car window.

Larry Will Blackshire III, 26, was sentenced to between one and 15 years in prison for attempted murder, a second-degree felony, by Judge James Gardner.

Family members of Zachary Means, the man who was hit and survived, said at the sentencing that his life has been changed forever. They said he spent two months in bed, had four surgeries and has had aid from 120 doctors and nurses before he was able to use a wheelchair. He has since learned how to walk again.

On Feb. 21, 2021, Means broke the back window of Blackshire's car, according to a statement from the Salt Lake County District Attorney Office. Blackshire and two friends chased the man, but when he outran them Blackshire went back and got his car to begin searching for Means.

He saw the man walking in a crosswalk near 2000 South and 900 East and intentionally swerved, hitting Means while going 40 mph, charging documents state.

"The impact caused the pedestrian to go airborne and land several yards away," the statement said.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill thanked prosecutors, victims advocates and the police department for their work on the case, and expressed appreciation that the sentence would run consecutively to another sentence Blackshire is serving for driving under the influence in another case.

"Mr. Blackshire showed extreme cruelty when he made the decision to intentionally hit the survivor. The accident reconstruction expert at the scene said it was rare for someone to survive being hit by a car driving that fast," he said.

Blackshire pleaded guilty to the charge on Sept. 1, and as a result of a plea deal two charges were dismissed — aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, and failure to stop at the command of police, a class A misdemeanor. The charge for attempted murder was also changed from a first-degree felony to a second-degree felony as part of the plea deal.