Police identify victim in deadly Rose Park crash
Oct 19, 2021, 4:06 PM | Updated: Oct 20, 2021, 5:25 am
(Salt Lake City Police Department)
(Salt Lake City Police Department)
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City police have released the name of the woman who was killed Saturday after a suspected drunk driver crashed into her car while fleeing from police in Rose Park.
The victim was identified Tuesday as 33-year-old Thy Hoang Vu.
The incident began around noon Saturday when the North Salt Lake Police Department was notified about a possible drunk driver that was driving erratically.
NSLPD Sgt. Mitch Gwilliam said their officers spotted the truck and attempted to stop it, but the vehicle took off.
“The vehicle fled onto I-15, then southbound,” he said. “Ultimately exited into Salt Lake City.”
The truck then crashed into an uninvolved vehicle in the area of 1200 West and 500 North.
Two people were in that car — Vu and another woman, whose identity has not been released.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, Vu was the driver,” read a press release from the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Vu was pronounced dead on scene, while the passenger was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
“As of Tuesday October 19, 2021, that person remains in the hospital in critical condition,” the press release continued.
Investigators believe a dog that died on scene was also inside Vu’s car at the time of the crash.
Police said the two men in the pickup truck, the fleeing suspect vehicle, were injured in the collision as well.
An investigation into the deadly pursuit is ongoing.
“Because no SLCPD officers or resources were involved in this incident, the Salt Lake County OICI Protocol Team 1 (led by Salt Lake City PD) are handling the investigation along with the Crash Analysis Reconstruction (CAR) Team,” read the press release.
Police went on to say, “As part of the OICI Protocol, the Salt Lake County Protocol Coordinator was contacted and then notified the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, who had an on-call DA investigator respond.”
As KSL-TV reported Monday, witnesses of the crash are questioning if police should have been speeding through their neighborhood.
Just before 7 p.m. Tuesday, police said 39-year-old Christian Cody Facer was arrested in connection to the fatal crash.
SLCPD’s press release states, “After the crash, paramedics transported Facer to an area hospital in serious condition. He remained under guard by law enforcement due to the ongoing criminal investigation. Facer was immediately arrested by the SLCPD on October 19, 2021 after doctors released him from the hospital.”
Police said Facer will be booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of several charges, including failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop — resulting in death or serious bodily injury, criminal automobile homicide, driving under the influence, and reckless driving, among others.
A GoFundMe* account has been established to support Mims’ family.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
