Police have arrested the suspect in an Oct. 16 hit and run crash near Preston that left a bicyclist fighting for his life in a Utah hospital.
The male bicyclist was left critically injured when struck by a Volkswagen Jetta sedan driven by Christopher James Ward, 33, of Smithfield, Utah, and wasn’t found until hours later because Ward drove from the scene and never reported the crash, authorities said.
Idaho State Police announced on Wednesday that Ward had been arrested for the hit and run crash, which occurred near the intersection of South State Street and East 4800 South.
Ward is currently being held at the Cache County Jail in Logan, Utah, and is awaiting extradition to Idaho to face charges of felony leaving the scene of an injury crash and felony concealment of evidence, state police said.
Ward’s Volkswagen Jetta has been seized by authorities as evidence in the case.
State police said the car sustained extensive front-end damage when it struck the 25-year-old bicyclist.
When the bicyclist didn’t return home, his friends and family began searching for him and he was found by family members on the night of Oct. 16 approximately four and a half hours after the collision, authorities said.
The family members reported the incident to state police, who immediately responded to the scene. State police said the bicyclist suffered very serious injuries in the collision and was airlifted by emergency helicopter to a Utah hospital, where he remained in critical condition as of Wednesday.
Once state police were able to identify Ward as the driver of the car via tips from citizens and evidence, a warrant was issued for his arrest by the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office and he was taken into custody Wednesday morning by Smithfield police.
State police said in a Wednesday press release: “ISP is thankful to the public for providing numerous tips which led to an arrest in this case. Without information from Franklin County, Idaho, and Cache County, Utah residents, troopers could not have solved the case.”
State police said anyone with additional information about the incident should contact them at (208) 239-9800.
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