SALT LAKE COUNTY — A 33-year-old man in Salt Lake County has been arrested after Utah Highway Patrol troopers say he lied about his cousin driving during a hit-and-run incident on Interstate 80.
Lucas Manuel Martinez, 33, was arrested on Tuesday and faces charges of failure to comply with duties at a vehicle accident, making a false statement, and possession of a controlled substance, among others.
According to court documents, troopers responded to the hit and run on I-80 near mile marker 132. When troopers arrived, they discovered that one of the vehicles had failed to remain at the scene.
Troopers located the vehicle pulled over off East Canyon near a UDOT shed with a person sitting in the driver's seat. Investigators say the keys were in the ignition, and a pile of clothes was sitting in the passenger seat.
When asked about the crash, troopers say Martinez claimed that his cousin was driving at the time of the crash but had pulled over and run west. Troopers asked about the clothes and backpack in the passenger seat, to which Martinez claimed he had placed them there after getting into the driver's seat.
Martinez also signed an accident information form claiming to have been the passenger in the car at the time of the crash.
Utah Highway Patrol was given consent by Martinez to search the vehicle and found a syringe containing a brown liquid in a shoe.
When troopers observed Martinez, they say that he was wearing mismatched shoes at the time of his arrest and that one of the shoes he was wearing matched the shoe that was found with the syringe.
Troopers placed Martinez under arrest and, during a search, found a small bag with a white crystallized substance. Multiple other syringes were also found.
