SPANISH FORK, Utah -- It has been four months since a teenager from Spanish Fork was killed in a hit-and-run, and Friday the family of Nathan Haun, 17, is still looking for answers.
“Somebody’s conscience has got to be eating at them. I dream about it. How can they not be?” said Preston Haun, the teen’s father.
Officials with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said they've been following dozens of leads, but they are not much closer to finding the person who was behind the wheel.
Haun was walking home from a party in Payson when he was struck by a vehicle around 5:00 a.m. on the morning of July 13. He was found along West Arrowhead Trail later that day. According to authorities, his injuries were so severe he was unrecognizable.
The Hauns thought Nathan was going to sleep at a friend’s house that night but later learned he had left after a fight with another teenager at the party. In the months since, they haven’t been able to stop thinking about how differently that night could have gone.
“I went to work at 5, he could have called,” said Preston Haun. “His aunt lived like three blocks away. He could have went to her house.”
Initially, authorities suspected the driver was one of the teens Haun had been partying with, many of whom refused to talk to police at the time. However, that theory has changed, according to Det. Quin Fackrell of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
“We have no reason to believe they were involved at this point,” Fackrell said.
Many of the teens eventually came forward to talk with police, and after corroborating their stories, authorities were forced to widen their search for someone else.
“It’s frustrating from a standpoint that nobody, especially the driver of that vehicle, has come forward yet,” Fackrell said. “Obviously, the family needs closure. We need closure.”
Based on evidence found on the road, Fackrell said they believe the car involved was a 1990s Dodge pickup truck.
Authorities have subpoenaed cell phone records, and are using a nearby cell tower to try to find people who were in the area at the time.
“We’re still trying to analyze those records,” Fackrell said. “There are thousands of them, and so it’s time consuming.”
For the Hauns, the time spent waiting for an answer is the hardest part.
“I hope we don’t have to live a lifetime like this,” Haun said.
