Man allegedly ran over 63-year-old into car wash parking lot before cleaning his own car and fleeing the scene

The 21-year-old driver – who has since been charged with a hit-and-run – told police he was ‘scared and didn’t know what to do’.

A Utah man was killed in a crash — and the driver who hit him washed his car at a nearby car wash before fleeing the scene.

According to one series by press releases From the Ogden Police Department – located north of Salt Lake City – a man identified as 21-year-old Christian Hernandez Palma hit 63-year-old Stirling Kelso as he left the car wash parking lot around 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday. cleaning laundry. , October 30.

Kelso was pronounced dead at the scene and police said Palma fled before officers arrived. Police say Kelso was not an employee of the car wash. It’s unclear why he was cleaning the parking lot.

Local news channel KSL.com reported that security footage of the incident shows a gray Lexus pulling into the car wash when the driver “struck a pedestrian who was on the ground cleaning the area,” according to a police affidavit.

The outlet added that Palma told police he then drove into a bay and began washing his car just feet away from Kelso’s body. He “was scared and didn’t know what to do,” Palma told police.

A bystander approached Palma to ask if he knew what happened, and Palma replied that he did not know.

The affidavit obtained by KSL.com states that Palma also stopped to talk to a truck driver whose vehicle had a company logo printed on it. The police were able to trace the company based on its logo and found Palma’s Lexus in the company’s parking lot. The car had damage to the front bumper and undercarriage “consistent with a car-pedestrian collision”, and police arrested Palma shortly afterwards.

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Police also said in the affidavit that Palma had a fake U.S. Permanent Resident ID card and no driver’s license, according to KSL.com.

Speak with FOX 13 NewsKelso’s daughter Misty confirmed that her father was the victim of the accident and talked about his personality.

“I talked to him last night,” she told the outlet. “He loves eagles – he’s an eagle man, he loves everything with eagles, he collects everything with eagles. He’s going to fly with the eagles.”

Ogden police said in a news release that Palma was booked into the Weber County Jail on several charges, including a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license and failure to maintain a safe and proper view.