Man pleads guilty in high-speed crash that killed 3 passengers


5 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of killing three passengers in his car during a high-speed crash as he fled from police has pleaded guilty.

Jonathan Ulises Analco-Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court Friday to two counts of DUI automobile homicide, a second-degree felony. A third charge was dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Investigators say Cruz was traveling 60 mph in a 35 mph zone at Salt Lake City International Airport when an officer attempted to pull him over on May 17, 2014. Cruz accelerated and made abrupt lane changes as he headed toward eastbound I-80, prompting the officer to end his pursuit as speeds climbed, according to court documents.

Cruz apparently lost control and crashed his Volkswagen Passat near the I-215 interchange, rolling the vehicle several times.

Cruz was found in critical condition, his three passengers dead inside the car. Cruz's girlfriend, Michaela Martin, 18, of Taylorsville, was killed in the crash. She had been sitting in the front seat. Hardinger Cruz, 17, of Salt Lake City, and Randy Ruiz, 14, of Midvale were killed in the back seat.

An accident reconstruction investigation indicated the car was traveling 103 mph when it lost control. Marijuana and an empty beer can were found in the wreckage, while toxicology reports showed Cruz's blood-alcohol level was 0.21 and indicated THC in his system, the charges state. Utah's legal limit is 0.08.

Cruz also pleaded guilty Friday to failure to stop at an officer's command, a second-degree felony. Sentencing is scheduled for May 1.

Court records show a judge issued a warrant for Cruz's arrest nine days before the crash when he failed to pay a fine and complete a driver education course for driving on a suspended license and driving without a license in April 2013.

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
McKenzie Romero

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast