SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah, Sept. 6, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — The 49-year-old pedestrian left in very critical condition after an Aug. 29 collision with a stolen bullet bike has died.
Mark Edward Swindle, of South Salt Lake, died at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday from injuries he sustained in the collision, according to information from the South Salt Lake Police Department.
Swindle had been walking north at the intersection of 3300 South and 900 West just before midnight when he was struck by a westbound motorcycle, which crashed onto its right side. The rider then stood up the motorcycle and left Swindle at the scene with critical head wounds.
Wednesday, Mark Swindle’s older brother by four years, Ellis Swindle, spoke about his brother, who worked as a mechanic but had had recent health problems.
Ellis described his brother to Gephardt Daily. “He and I were polar opposites. He was a carefree, easygoing guy, he didn’t sweat the small stuff. He kind of took life on his own terms. He made friends wherever he went. He liked fast cars, liked rebuilding hot rods and racing them. He liked loud rock ‘n’ roll music, in that respect we’re opposites, but… he was, he had a heart of gold, and he’d do anything for anybody. But he was kind of a sad kid, he fell through the cracks as a youngster, but he was a hard worker. He had arthritis in his hands and his knees and that made it hard for him to work. He always had a job until the past year or two and things got to be too much for him. I tried to help him as best I can, could, but…”
Ellis he lost contact with his brother, but they repaired their relationship in recent times. “We’d had some problems, but he’d reached out to me in the past couple of years and we had developed a closeness that had never been there before… the last time I saw him he said I guess you’re going to want a hug, you’re only going to get one… so I said ‘I can’t make any promises,’ so we stood in my living room and held onto each other, and we might have had a sense that might be the last time we saw each other and it was. He might have been a grown man but he was still my baby brother.”
The bullet bike involved in the crash was located near 412 E. Warnock Ave. (2465 South), in South Salt Lake, after a tipster noticed it and called police Friday.
The suspected driver of the stolen motorcycle, 20-year-old Lutolofi Maama, was booked in the Salt Lake County Jail on charges related to the stolen motorcycle and hit-and-run crash at 1:41 a.m. Saturday morning.
A previous news release from SSLPD said Maama ran after being spotted by police, and led officers on ” … an hour and a half game of cat-and-mouse.
“Officers would spot the suspect and the suspect would duck away or jump a fence. Finally, with the help of five K-9s and a number of officers from surrounding agencies, the suspect was safely taken into custody for questioning.”
Maama had a fresh case of road rash, like police predicted the fallen biker would have, and a bruised face and bandaged hands.
The pending charges against Maama will be amended to include the death of Swindle.
Formal charges have not yet been filed, pending a review by the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office, the SSLPD statement says.
Maama is also expected to face charges of:
- Vehicle theft, a second-degree felony
- Two counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, second-degree felonies
- Failure to remain at the site of an accident with injury, a third-degree felony
- Failure to respond to officers, a third-degree felony
- Failure to stop at command of law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor
- Driving on a suspended license, a Class C misdemeanor
- No insurance, a Class C misdemeanor
I grew up with Mark Swindles sister and we’ve lost contact. I’d like to express my condolence to the Swindle family and the loss of their baby brother Mark.
My my name is Cathy Salas mark swindle is the love of my life and will always be my love I carry his heart I carry it in my heart