Victim of hit-and-run crash speaks out against plea deal for suspect
Nov 15, 2024, 7:30 PM | Updated: 7:34 pm
KEARNS — The victim of a horrific hit-and-run is speaking out against a possible plea deal for the suspect in the case.
Tamyah Salazar, 26, suffered life-altering injuries, and the man accused of leaving her for dead has a long rap sheet, so she was surprised to learn of a plea deal.
“It’s been really hard. I still freak out in cars,” Salazar said.
It’s been almost four months since paramedics found Salazar knocking on death’s door.
“I still have problems with my memory,” she said.
Tamyah Salazar in the hospital after the hit-and-run on July 21. 2024. (Courtesy Tamyah Salazar)
The 26-year-old also hasn’t regained full mobility of her leg and has difficulty walking at times.
“It’s possibly from the brain trauma that I had,” Salazar said.
It’s no surprise that Salazer’s injuries are so severe as surveillance video captures the July hit-and-run crash in Kearns. Sparks fly as the suspect’s vehicle plows into the car Salazar and her two friends were riding in.
“Me and two other people almost died and he ran,” Salazar said.
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Unified police identified 24-year-old Luis Sebastian Enciso from a picture taken at the scene. Salazar said the tattoos on his calves were a giveaway.
“We know it’s him,” Salazar said. “[But] then he tried to cover up the tattoos, and then his cousin tried to cover up for him [and take the blame].”
Enciso had only been out of prison nine months before the crash. According to his criminal record, Enciso is linked to gang activity and the 2019 unsolved murder of a Kearns teen, Neko Jardine.
In Jardine’s case, Salt Lake County prosecutors dropped the charges shortly after Enciso’s arrest by the West Valley City Police Department.
According to Salazar, Enciso was offered a plea deal and some probation in her case.
She said the plea deal would drop two charges of failure to stop at a serious injury accident in exchange for guilty pleas on the remaining counts of obstruction of justice and failure to stop at a serious injury accident, which are third-degree felonies.
A graphic showing the recent arrests involving Luis Enciso. (KSL TV)
“I’m upset! This guy has a rap sheet. You can Google his name and see everything that he’s done. It’s no secret, so why is he getting off easy again with no dire consequences? He’s going to think that he can continue to be a menace,” Salazar said.
According to Salazar, prosecutors don’t feel their case against Enciso is strong enough for a jury to convict him, but she hopes they’ll reconsider.
“He needs more jail time; why does he get to get off easy when we almost lost our lives, and he just didn’t care,” she said.
Enciso is currently being held in the Davis County Jail. He’s due back in court on Monday.
In a statement to KSL TV, District Attorney Sim Gill said his office could not comment on the case but thanked the public for bringing the matter to their attention.
“We will look into it. As always, if any citizen wants to talk with me, I set aside my Friday afternoons for citizen meetings,” Gill said in the statement.
