PARK CITY, Utah — A Park City man was arrested last week after he allegedly faked an accident to cover up his involvement in a hit-and-run the day before.
Police said they were called Friday to a report of a vehicle having collided with a guard rail. When they arrived, the license plate of the Mazda 3 driven by Sebastian Loria-Valverde matched those of a vehicle involved in a Thursday accident in which the driver left the scene at a parking garage.
Loria-Valverde, 23, claimed his car had struck the guard rail, but an officer "observed no scrapes, damage, or paint transfer on the guard rail," according to the probable cause affidavit.
Also at the scene, a large section of a side bumper was seen lying on the ground next to the guard rail. It was determined that the same vehicle and same section of bumper was seen the day before at the China Bridge parking hit-and-run scene.
Loria-Valverde claimed he had been driving home when he got confused and struck the guard rail. He asked an officer if he could charge his cell phone before calling his insurance company.
After viewing photographs from the previous day's accident, the officer placed Loria-Valverde under arrest.
Following his arrest, Loria-Valverde confessed to crashing his Mazda at the parking structure on Thursday, then picking up the car from a towing company Friday and parking it near the guard rail and placing the bumper on the ground.
During a search of Loria-Valverde's car, police also found marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.
Loria-Valverde faces multiple charges, including filing a false insurance claim and filing a false written statement to police.
