Ogden hit-and-run driver washed car ‘just feet from victim’ after accident, police say

OGDEN — The driver involved in an Ogden parking lot hit-and-run that killed one washed his car “just feet from the victim” after the accident, police said.

The Ogden Police Department said in a probable cause statement that 21-year-old Christian Palma Hernandez was driving a gray Lexus into the parking lot of a car wash at 715 South Washington Boulevard in Ogden when he ran over a man who was on the ground cleaning the area.

Palma later admitted to “hitting the pedestrian at the car wash and then driving the car into a nearby bay and washing the vehicle just feet from the victim,” the statement said.

He reportedly told police that he was scared and didn’t know what to do. Documents said bystanders went up to Palma and asked him if he knew what happened, and he told them he didn’t.

The victim, who was identified as 63-year-old Stirling Kelso, died on scene.

Police were able to track down the driver because another vehicle at the scene had the name of a local business printed on the side. Police later learned that the Lexus Palma was driving was also owned by that business and was being loaned to several workers.

When investigators responded to the local business, they saw the gray Lexus outside and noticed damage on the car “consistent with an auto vs. pedestrian collision,” according to the statement.

The Lexus owner reportedly told police that workers from the business had taken the car to the carwash to get it cleaned that night.

The statement said Palma did not have a valid driver’s license. He reportedly provided police a permanent resident ID, but it was confirmed to be fake.