Santaquin man charged with attempted murder in assault with pickup truck

NEPHI — A Santaquin man was charged Tuesday with intentionally hitting another man with his pickup truck and smashing his leg against a second vehicle.

Steven Erick Stowell, 52, is charged in 4th District Court with attempted murder, a second-degree felony; failing to stop at a serious accident and obstruction of justice, third-degree felonies; assault, a class B misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct, a class C misdemeanor.

On June 15, Stowell argued with his ex-girlfriend on the phone and then drove to her home in Nephi, where he “pounded on her windows and door” and demanded that she come outside, according to charging documents.

A short time later, police say some of the woman’s friends arrived and one of them got into a fight with Stowell.

“At some point, Stowell got into (his) pickup and intentionally drove his pickup into the individual, smashing the individual between the individual’s car and Stowell’s pickup. The individual sustained severe injuries to his leg. Stowell purportedly got out of his pickup, went up to the individual, who was now lying on the ground, and slapped the individual in the face,” the charges allege.

Police who arrived on scene said the victim’s leg was bleeding so badly that they needed to apply two tourniquets. The man was taken to a local hospital and then transferred by medical helicopter to another hospital that could treat his injuries.

Stowell was pulled over a short distance away and was arrested.