In less than a week, SLC sees two hit-and-run fatalities

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City has seen two fatal hit-and-run incidents in less than a week. 

Police are searching for the driver who struck and killed a 59-year-old man riding a bicycle north on Redwood Road at 755 South early Sunday morning.

Police asked residents in the area on Monday to check their doorbell cameras to see if they have images or footage of the hit-and-run.

Around 1:15 a.m. on July 3, Victor Hershberger, 61, was riding a scooter when he was hit and killed near 1000 North and 1000 West. Police arrested Robert Boyatt and booked him into jail on suspicion of murder Thursday night.

Boyatt knew Hershberger and was looking for him on a “vengeance spree,” witnesses told police, according to a probable cause statement.

Brent Weisburg, a spokesman for the SLCPD, joined Dave and Dujanovic to share more details on the latest incident.

Sunday’s hit-and-run marks the 10th traffic fatality in the city so far this year, Weisburg said.

“We see it over and over again: distracted driving, people going too fast in their cars on our city streets, through our city neighborhoods,” he said.

Gathering evidence at the crime scene

“Have you been able to capture or find the person who’s alleged to have killed the cyclist over the weekend?” Debbie asked.

“We are still looking for that driver. In fact, our detectives with our major crash team, they were able to collect some very valuable evidence from the scene and that evidence is being processed,” Weisburg said.

He added detectives work with automakers to use small pieces of evidence such as paint to identify the make and model of the hit-and-run car or truck.

Suspicious crash?

Weisburg also said the community can help police in tracking down drivers in these types of incidents.

“If you know someone who was involved in a recent crash, and there’s not a good explanation for it or you think it’s suspicious, give us a call.”

“We want to know about that because we have seen in past cases where people will try to cover up a crime or we know that people will try to hinder an investigation by not reporting or trying to conceal that damage and that in and of itself can result in criminal charges,” Weisburg said.

Related: Utah man faces up to 20 years in prison for fatal hit-and-run of pregnant woman