WASHINGTON CITY — A 43-year-old Washington City man was arrested Tuesday night for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident with injury and improper lane travel, an event one witness called chaotic.
Read More: Officers investigate 2 accidents caused by 1 driver; possible hit-and-run
Weston Ray Livingston was driving a Ford F150 truck pulling a utility trailer with an all-terrain vehicle Tuesday evening. He was in the right turn lane on Telegraph Street to turn onto Green Springs Drive when he struck a motorcycle that was in front of him, then fled the scene toward Interstate 15, Washington City Police Public Information Officer Ed Kantor said.
The motorcycle rider, Chris Hatanaka, 23, was still suffering feelings of soreness and had suffered whiplash and contusions to his arm and leg where the trailer ran over him during the accident, Hatanaka’s mother, Dixie Hatanaka, said Wednesday night.
“He didn’t sleep last night, none of us did,” she said. “It keeps going on in his head what happened.”
After fleeing the scene and turning onto Green Springs Drive, Livingston struck the back of a white mini van occupied by a father and four kids who were waiting in the left turn lane going toward the on-ramp of 1-15, Kantor said.
Livingston was stopped by citizens after fleeing the scene of the second accident and was found to be driving under the influence of suspected drugs, Washington City Police Officer Chandler Prince wrote in the probable cause statement supporting the arrest.
Private citizens and a few members of Bikers Against Child Abuse rushed to help stop Livingston after he fled the first accident prior to police arriving at the scene.
Albert Nuñez said he chased Livingston down after he hit the motorcycle and fled. He was able to stop him right when he hit the mini van, Nuñez said. Livingston’s window was down and he put the truck in park and took his keys out of the ignition, he said.
“I told him ‘hey you hit that guy’ and he said ‘I know’ and it seemed like he was under the influence of something but it wasn’t alcohol,” Albert Nuñez said. “He slurred his words a lot and he said ‘I’m gonna pull off right there,’ and I said ‘no you can’t.'”
While Nuñez ran after Livingston, his wife, Leslie, said she called 911. She and a couple from a pest control vehicle helped at the scene until the police arrived.
Livingston suffered a medical episode during the accident, Albert Nuñez said, and a law enforcement officer performed CPR on him at the scene.
As police investigated the incident they said Livingston appeared to have suffered some type of impairment that caused a health incident on scene and he was transported by ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center.
While at the hospital Livingston’s blood was drawn and he was later transported and booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility without incident, Prince wrote in the probable cause statement.
All vehicles including Livingston’s were reported to have $1,000 or more in damage, Kantor said.
Livingston was booked on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and leaving the scene of an accident with injury, both third-degree felonies; and improper lane travel, a class C misdemeanor.
His bail is set at $7,010 and he remains in custody at the time of this publication. His initial appearance in Washington County 5th District Court is on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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7,000 bail that’s it Really
Is it me or are the drivers around here just getting progressively worse as the days progress?!?!
“Livingston suffered a medical episode during the accident, Albert Nuñez said, and a law enforcement officer performed CPR on him at the scene.”
Got hold of some bad dope, did he? Too bad they bothered to do the CPR. I hope they busted a few of his ribs doing it.