Man killed in West Valley City after stolen car crashes into home

WEST VALLEY CITY — A man was killed in a West Valley City home on Thursday night after a series of events involving a stolen car.

Police said they were “loosely” following the stolen vehicle and monitoring it at 3100 South and Redwood Road when three teenagers finally got out of the car. Two of them were taken into police custody but the driver got back into the car and took off.

That’s when he hit a police car as well as spike strips that police had laid out.

After hitting the spike strips at a high rate of speed, “he lost control of the vehicle,” said West Valley City spokesperson Roxeanne Vainuku, “went through the yard of one home, went through a chain link fence of a second yard, and smashed into a house — taking out a good chunk of the front room.”

STOLEN VEHICLE CAUSES FATALITY, CRASHES INTO HOUSE: At approximately 7:05PM, an officer spotted a stolen vehicle at 3100 South Redwood Rd. An unmarked vehicle followed the stolen vehicle to monitor it. The vehicle went westbound on 3100 S., and turned into a neighborhood. 1/ pic.twitter.com/y0B9dKcRy9

— WVC Police (@WVCPD) May 26, 2023

A 24-year-old man standing in front of that second house was killed. On Friday morning he was identified as Adrian Hernandez-Rodriguez.

This series of events also damaged a home gas meter according to WVC police. Because of that, nearby homes were evacuated until the situation was deemed safe.

Police said the 15-year-old driver was taken to a hospital after the car drove into the house. 

Other reading:

• West Valley City is finding its identity, according to city manager
• Fire causes estimated $200K in damage to West Valley City home