SALT LAKE CITY — Police have arrested a man on suspicion of killing a woman while he fled from police and while driving under the influence Saturday afternoon.
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Christian Cody Facer, 39, was taken into police custody immediately upon his release from the hospital on Tuesday. Salt Lake City Police say he will be booked on the following charges:
- Failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop, resulting in death or serious bodily injury
- Criminal automobile homicide
- Driving under the influence
- Ignition interlock violation
- Driving on a suspended or revoked license
- Open container/drinking alcohol in a vehicle
- Speeding
- Failure to adhere to the right of way
- Reckless driving
- DUI with serious bodily injury by negligent operation (two counts)
He has not yet been officially charged in court. The charges formally filed may be different from those he will be booked on.
According to police, Facer was seen driving erratically through North Salt Lake around noon Saturday while drinking a bottle of liquor with a passenger.
Officers attempted to pull Facer over, but he allegedly did not stop and led them on a high-speed pursuit, which ended when he crashed into a vehicle in a residential area of Salt Lake City. The vehicle hit by the pickup was not involved in the chase.
The crash claimed the life of 33-year-old Thy Hoang Vu (also known by family and friends as Thy Vu Mims) and caused critical injuries to another woman who was a passenger in Mims' vehicle.
A dog that was in Mims' vehicle was also killed.
Police believe Mims was driving the Nissan Pathfinder at the time, which appeared to have been t-boned by Facer's pickup truck.
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Both Facer and his passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The passenger, a man whose name is not being released due to the ongoing investigation, was still in the hospital in serious condition as of Tuesday night. It was not stated whether he would be charged in connection with the pursuit and/or subsequent fatal crash.
SLCPD added that Facer was "under guard" by law enforcement while he was treated in the hospital.
Mims' passenger, who is also not being publicly identified, remains in critical condition.
