SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 9, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City police have released the name of a man arrested after allegedly fleeing police and rolling his vehicle, which resulted in the death of his passenger.
The arrested man is 20-year-old Josue Yahir Hernandez-Perez. He has been booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of manslaughter in the death of passenger Douglas Rodriguez, 21, his court documents say.
A statement issued by the SLCPD Public Relations Unit says the investigation began at 12:16 a.m. Sunday when dispatch was called about a shooting near 923 S. State St. A victim was taken to an area hospital with a bullet injury that was not considered life-threatening.
“As officers arrived on scene, they saw a car leaving at a high rate of speed eastbound on 900 South,” the SLCPD PR statement says. “Based on the preliminary information available at this time, officers had information to believe the people inside the car may have been involved in the shooting that had just occurred.”
Police attempted to stop the car, but driver Hernandez-Perez did not pull over, the statement says. The car crashed and rolled over at 1100 East and 900 South.
“When officers arrived on scene, they found Douglas Rodriguez critically injured, and Hernandez-Perez pinned inside the car.”
Rodriguez died on scene.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears Hernandez-Perez crashed after failing to navigate the roundabout while traveling at a high rate of speed,” the SLCPD PR statement says, adding that officers did not perform a PIT maneuver or use stop sticks to deflate tires, which are common strategies during a pursuit.
“Paramedics took Hernandez-Perez to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” the statement says. “Because the incident resulted in someone’s death, the Salt Lake City Police Department invoked the officer-involved-critical-incident protocol.”
OICI Protocol Team 3, led by West Valley City Police, is leading this investigation.
“The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. No arrests have been made. Anyone with information about the shooting should call 801-799-3000.”
An affidavit filed in the arrest of Hernandez-Perez, filed by an officer of the West Valley City Police Department, says that Post Miranda, “he stated that he had been travelling with the victim prior to the accident. The two had met up earlier in the evening and had attended a party together. Josue stated he was driving during this time and the victim was his front passenger.”
The time and location of the party, provided by Hernandez-Perez, matched the information the SLCPD had provided regarding the shooting callout, the affidavit says. The car driven by Hernandez-Perez, a black Mercedes sedan, “also matched the description given for
the suspect vehicle,” the court document says.
“Josue stated that the victim began to get anxious due to seeing police vehicles in the area. Josue stated that he did observe the police emergency lights behind him and fled in response to the victim asking him to after they appeared. Josue stated he crashed soon after. He stated in the aftermath of the crash the victim was on top of him inside the vehicle. He stated first responders on scene told him the victim would most likely not make it.”
A review of the scene revealed Hernandez-Perez’s car “was driving recklessly as it went over a center median, a sidewalk, and into a grassy lawn. The vehicle was also observed to not be on any of its four wheels as those did not appear to make contact with the ground.”
Hernandez-Perez was booked into jail for investigation of:
- Manslaughter, a second-degree felony
- Failure to respond to officers’ signal to stop — death/injury
- Reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor
- No valid license, never obtained licence, an infraction
Hernandez-Perez was ordered to be held without bail.
