MILLCREEK, Utah — Charges have officially been filed against a man accused of hitting and killing a 20-year-old woman on a Millcreek road, and then fleeing the scene, sparking a week-long search for a suspect.
Jonathan Lyman was charged Monday with four third-degree felonies in the death of Lindsey VanOrman.
On July 27, VanOrman had got out of her own vehicle with the hazards on to tend to a cat near 3051 South 2300 East, when she was hit by a pickup truck. The 20-year-old was taken to the hospital where she later died.
Following the search for the pickup truck driver, Lyman was arrested without incident on August 2.
Lyman has been charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident involving Death and three counts of Obstruction of Justice.
Video below showed the suspected truck involved immediately after the incident:
During the search for the Nissan Titan pickup truck, detectives were able to find its owner, who confirmed that it had been loaned to Lyman. The truck's owner said he had been trying to contact Lyman about returning the pickup, but had received no response.
When the truck was located on July 30 in Murray, it showed that a damaged area on the front had been wiped down and the inside was cleared out.
While talking to detectives, Lyman first claimed that his girlfriend had been driving the truck at the time of the incident. A search of his phone also found multiple photos of the front-end damage to the Nissan, and that it had been parked in the backyard of his residence, not on the street as usual.
In video below, heartbroken family shares memories of Lindsey VanOrman:
During jail calls between Lyman and his girlfriend, he asked "why she didn’t tell the police that he was with her July 27," to which the woman said that she wouldn't lie for him. Lyman was then recorded saying that he "panicked" when he claimed it was his girlfriend who was driving.
Lyman was traveling between 32-to-26 miles per hour when he struck VanOrman, while also driving with a suspended license.
“We are truly sorry for the loss of Ms. VanOrman and extend our deepest sympathies to her family and friends coping with her sudden passing. If you are involved in a crash, you should stay on scene and immediately call 911. That decision could mean the difference between life and death for anyone injured in the crash,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
