ABC4 Utah

15-year-old teen charged after crashing stolen car into West Valley home, killing man

WEST VALLEY, Utah (ABC4) — The 15-year-old who crashed a stolen car that killed a man in West Valley faces several charges in juvenile court.

On May 25, around 9:30 p.m., a 15-year-old driving a stolen vehicle crashed into a home in West Valley City. Adrian Hernandez-Rodriguez, 24, was standing in front of the house and was killed on impact.

The 15-year-old was charged in juvenile court with failure to stop at the command of an officer resulting in injury, a second-degree felony; possession of a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony; aggravated assault, a second-degree felony; hit-and-run, a class B misdemeanor; one count of driving without a license and failure to maintain control of a vehicle.

The investigation began when an officer spotted the stolen vehicle off 3100 South and Redwood Road Thursday evening. The officer followed the vehicle in an unmarked car until the teens stopped at a house on Lehi Drive, and exited the vehicle.

At this point, the officer approached the subjects. However, the teen driver reportedly got back into the vehicle and attempted to lose the officer. A short while later, the car hit a tire deflation device and continued speeding away.

After taking a curve in the road, the teen lost control of the car and crashed through two fenced yards, Rodriguez, and a home near 3300 Lehi Drive.

The vehicle then continued on to another home and struck a car, at which point it was stopped and the teen was taken into custody. The vehicle was reportedly stolen out of Salt Lake City.