WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Aug. 12, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — West Valley City police officers have arrested a suspect wanted in the death of an 11-year-old boy who was struck and mortally injured late Wednesday night while walking on a sidewalk with his mother.
West Valley City PD released a description of the hit-and-run driver’s vehicle — a silver Toyota Tacoma — and within a matter of hours received a tip as to its location.
“Just before midnight on Aug. 11, 2022, one of the neighbors reported a vehicle matching the description had been parked and a man and woman walked away from it,” says a WVCPD statement released Friday.
“Investigators followed up and noted damage on the vehicle consistent with the fatal accident. They then tracked the driver of the vehicle to a house in the area of 4000 W. 3700 South.
“Investigators made contact with Steven Rollins (12/6/1976) and determined he was driving the vehicle that killed the 11-year-old boy.
“Rollins was booked into jail for failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving a death,” a third-degree felony, the police statement says.
A probable cause statement released late Friday morning revealed Rollins is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail.
Affidavit
The arresting documents in Rollins’ case reveal that another driver witnessed the suspect strike something, later determined to be the child victim.
“The witness followed the suspect vehicle and attempted to get its attention by flashing their headlights. He described the vehicle as being a silver truck,” says the probable cause statement, filed by an officer of the West Valley City Police Department.
“The witness stated that when he flashed his light the suspect fled, and he was not able to follow.”
The child was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the statement says.
“Broken parts from the suspect vehicle were found at the scene of the accident, the parts were originally located in the right front of the vehicle which had broken off as a result of the impact… The recovered parts had markings belonging to a Toyota Tacoma likely manufactured in 2019.”
According to the WVCPD statement, a citizen contacted West Valley City Police late Thursday night and reported seeing the damaged pickup several blocks north of the accident site. Officers responded to the location, finding a vehicle with front-end damage and missing parts that had been found at the accident scene.
Rollins was found in an area near the truck, which was registered to one of his relatives, the police affidavit said. The truck’s owner gave officers the pickup keys and implicated Rollins in the fatal accident, saying attempts had been made to get Rollins to turn himself in. The relative had taken away the keys, the statement says, because of not wanting “anyone else to get hurt.”
The WVCPD statement thanked its traffic unit members for hard work, and also thanked “community members who work as partners with us every day to ensure safety in their neighborhoods and justice in our city.”
