This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The death of a 29-year-old man in a crash on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Duchesne County earlier this year is under investigation and could lead to federal charges against the vehicle's driver.
Damien Santio, 18, who allegedly has admitted to being the driver, was being held as of Wednesday in the Duchesne County Jail on tribal court charges.
A search warrant affidavit says possible federal charges could include involuntary manslaughter while within Indian country.
U.S. Magistrate Paul Warner has issued a search warrant requested last week by an FBI agent for the Audi SUV allegedly driven by Santio. The vehicle rolled during a high-speed chase in April and ejected some of the occupants, including Marshall Penning Jack, who died at the scene.
FBI Special Agent Dustin Grant said in an affidavit that investigators are looking for data in the SUV's computer system that includes vehicle speed, seat-belt status and brake position. Other evidence believed to be in the vehicle included alcohol bottles and beer cans, Grant said.
The affidavit, filed Sept. 1, says the SUV almost collided with another vehicle on a back road between Randlett and Gusher on April 5. When a tribal officer approached the SUV to investigate, the driver sped away, beginning a chase that reached speeds of more than 90 mph, Grant wrote.
As the SUV approached Highway 40, it nearly collided with a truck and went off the north edge of the highway after failing to negotiate the turn, according to the affidavit. The vehicle rolled several times and hit the ground approximately 50 feet below the road.
When the officer got to the vehicle, he saw two men — one of them Jack — lying on the ground, one person pinned under the SUV, one standing nearby and two people running away through a field, the affidavit says. It says multiple beer bottles were strewn around the scene, and a tow truck driver later located a crack pipe, a pistol and at least three dozen beer bottles and cans at the site.
Santio was arrested after being found hiding in a culvert.
Jack, of Fort Duchesne, was a professional skateboarder and a musician who played the flute and guitar, his obituary says.
According to SLUG Magazine, a skate competition held during the Fourth of July weekend was named in Jack's memory.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC