SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 19, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake City Police Department has arrested a man who they say killed a woman when the car she driving was struck by his speeding pickup truck, which was fleeing a North Salt Lake Police vehicle.
The collision happened at just after noon Saturday, Oct. 16, when a North Salt Lake Police officer pursued a suspected drunk driver into the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City, who collided with a passenger vehicle at the intersection of 1200 West and 500 North.
Driving that passenger vehicle was 33-year-old Thy Hoang Vu, who died at the scene. The other person in her vehicle was injured, as were the driver and passenger in the fleeing pickup. In addition, a dog was killed in the accident.
The Officer Involved Critical Incident (OICI) Protocol was initiated; because no SLCPD officers or resources were involved in this incident, the Salt Lake County OICI Protocol Team 1, led by Salt Lake City PD, is handling the investigation along with the Crash Analysis Reconstruction Team.
A news release from the SLCPD Tuesday evening said: “Detectives assigned to the SLCPD and the Crash Analysis Reconstruction Squad have arrested 39-year-old Christian Cody Facer in connection to the fatal pursuit-related crash that occurred Saturday in Rose Park.”
After the crash, paramedics transported Facer to an area hospital in serious condition. He remained under guard by law enforcement due to the ongoing criminal investigation. Facer was immediately arrested by the SLCPD Tuesday after doctors released him from the hospital.
Facer will be booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on charges of failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop resulting in death or serious bodily injury, criminal automobile homicide, driving under the influence, ignition interlock violation, driving on a suspended or revoked license, open container/drinking alcohol in a vehicle, speeding, failure to adhere to the right of way, reckless driving, and two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury by negligent operation.
Based on the preliminary investigation, Vu was the driver of a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder T-boned by the fleeing suspect vehicle, a Ford F-250.
The identity of the passenger in Vu’s vehicle is not being released. As of Tuesday, that person remains in the hospital in critical condition.
Due to the ongoing investigation, the identity of the passenger of Facer’s vehicle is not being released at this time. The passenger remains in the hospital in serious condition.
Investigators believe the dog that died on scene was inside Vu’s vehicle at the time of the crash.
No additional information is being released at this time due to the ongoing criminal investigation.
The SLCPD does not anticipate releasing any additional information about this ongoing investigation because it will be screened by the District Attorney’s Office, officials said.
A GoFundMe account has been set up with the stated purpose of helping Vu’s husband and their two young sons.
Gephardt Daily will have more information on this case as it develops.
