Suspected driver in fatal Millcreek hit-and-run faces charges
Aug 12, 2024, 2:41 PM | Updated: 3:49 pm
Jonathan Barrus Lyman, 39, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with leaving the scene of an accident involving death and three counts of obstructing justice. (Unified Police Department)
(Unified Police Department)
MILLCREEK — A Utah man arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of 20-year-old Lindsey VanOrman is now facing criminal charges after police said he initially denied he was behind the wheel, then tried to get his girlfriend to lie to police.
Jonathan Barrus Lyman, 39, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with leaving the scene of an accident involving death and three counts of obstructing justice, third-degree felonies, and having unauthorized control of a vehicle for an extended time, plus a count of obstruction, which are class A misdemeanors.
On July 27, VanOrman was hit just before 6 a.m. at 3051 S. on 2300 East while trying to retrieve an injured cat from the road. Unified Police detectives determined that Lyman “was two feet to the right of the fog line and was traveling outside his lane when the impact occurred” and moving between 32 mph to 36 mph, the charges state. He was also driving on a suspended license.
VanOrman’s body was thrown 66 feet.
“Security footage from the scene showed Lindsey walking back to an injured animal and her vehicle hazard lights on. A white truck is observed striking Lindsey, conducting a brake check and leaving the scene,” according to the charges.
Last week, Unified Police announced that Lyman had been arrested in connection to the fatal crash, but investigators could not confirm that he was the driver. When he was questioned by police, he claimed he had been with his girlfriend all night and morning and that his friend was driving the truck, the charges state.
But after he was taken into custody, investigators reviewed phone calls made from the Salt Lake County Jail between Lyman and the girlfriend during which he asked her why she didn’t tell police that he was with her, according to the charges.
Read the full story at ksl.com.
