SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 12, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against the man alleged to have hit a woman with a pickup truck in Millcreek last month, then fled the scene.
Victim Lindsey Vanorman, 20, died hours after being struck.
Jonathan Barrus Lyman, 39, now faces charges including four third-degree felonies, says a news release from the SLCo DA’s Office. The DA’s charging documents are not yet available through online court records.
“On July 27, 2024, security footage showed Ms. Vanorman walking back to an injured animal with her vehicle hazards turned on,” says the statement from the SLCo DA’s Office.
“A white Nissan truck is then seen in the footage hitting Ms. Vanorman. The driver hit the brakes, but the truck left the scene. Medical first responders took Ms. Vanorman to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
“When police contacted the vehicle owner, he told them that he had loaned the truck to the defendant and had been trying to get it returned to him since July 14.”
A neighbor of Lyman subsequently “contacted police saying they had seen that same white Nissan truck parked near his residence on July 25 with no damage, but when the citizen saw the truck at 7 a.m. on July 27, the truck had damage to the front passenger side. The citizen described the driver to police, who then, on Aug. 1, conducted surveillance on the residence where the white Nissan truck had been parked and took the defendant into custody when he came out and got into a different vehicle.”
The news release says Lyman “first denied that the white Nissan truck had been at his home and that a friend was driving that truck. He also claimed he had been with his girlfriend the night before July 27, and the morning the fatal hit and run happened. However, detectives reviewed jail calls between the defendant and his girlfriend, in which the defendant asked her why she hadn’t told police he was with her on July 27, and she replied she would not lie for him.”
The defendant then talked about wiping his google history off of his phone. Detectives had also found five photographs of front-end damage to the white Nissan truck on the defendant’s phone that showed he had pulled the truck to the backyard of the residence where he had been arrested, the DA’s statement says.
Lyman was arrested by Unified Police on Aug. 1. When the truck was located, “the shell had been removed, the interior had been cleaned, and the area of damage and leading edge had been wiped of any potential blood, tissue, or clothing transfer from the impact,” that affidavit says.
The DA’s news release continues, saying, “Police conducted further investigation, determining that Lyman would have been able to see Ms. Vanorman when he hit her at 5:56 a.m. on the morning of July 27. Investigators also determined that he was outside his lane when he hit Ms. Vanorman and was driving on a suspended license.”
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill made a statement in the news release:
“We are truly sorry for the loss of Ms. Vanorman and extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends coping with her sudden passing.
“If you are involved in a crash, you should stay on scene and immediately call 911. That decision could mean the difference between life and death for anyone injured in the crash.
“We appreciate the diligent and thorough investigation conducted by Unified Police Department detectives that led to these charges being filed. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
