Police respond to hit and run in Sandy Sunday morning
Oct 8, 2023, 4:32 PM
Sandy Police Sgt. Clay Swensen, the department's public information officer, talks with member of the media in Sandy on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. One man is dead following a hit-and-run involving an SUV and a motorcycle in Sandy early Sunday morning. A suspect is in custody. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
SANDY, Utah — One man is dead following a hit and run involving an SUV and a motorcycle in Sandy early Sunday morning.
According to a probable cause statement, a man on a motorcycle was stopped at a red light when Joseph Ornelas, 21, hit and killed him while driving a friend’s car. This happened at approximately 1 a.m.
Following this, Ornelas fled the scene, the probable cause statement states. Ornelas then parked the car in a residential neighborhood where neither he nor his passenger resides. He then walked to a Del Taco where he called the police.
According to the probable cause statement, Ornelas told police that he had two shots of Bacardi Rum. Additionally, he told officers that he had been driving on a suspended license.
The identity of the motorcyclist has not been released at this time. Lt. Dean Carriger with the Sandy Police Department said he is waiting for verification that the victim’s next of kin has been notified.
Ornelas has been booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. The investigation is ongoing.
