Editor’s note • The Salt Lake Tribune requested body camera footage from this May 25 crash on June 6. In a letter dated July 17 that The Tribune received on July 31, West Valley City denied the request and refused to release the footage. Telemundo Utah, a Tribune partner, requested the same body camera records. Initially, its request also was denied. Upon appeal, the footage was released to Telemundo Utah this week.
The Tribune is still seeking the footage. Today we elevate this story from Telemundo Utah for Tribune readers so more people may understand what happened. The Tribune and Telemundo Utah value transparency, even as West Valley City police denied requests from both organizations. -Lauren Gustus
Relatives of Adrián Hernández, who was killed after being struck by a vehicle driven by a teen trying to flee police in a stolen car in a West Valley City residential area, broke their silence after the publication of body camera footage from officers who were involved in the pursuit.
Telemundo Utah had exclusive access to videos from the body cameras of West Valley City officers during the tragic crash on May 25.
The images show how an officer tries to stop the vehicle with a spike strip while the young driver goes on the run. In another officer’s camera, it shows how the chase develops at high speed within the residential area.
The young driver hit a nearby house, running over Hernández who was visiting a friend, Marixa Bonilla.
Bonilla, who appears in the body camera video and was the only witness, said she was traumatized and afraid.
“I was at the door, because he was carrying a plate with pupusas, because he had come to bring pupusas here,” said Bonilla, who was the last to see Hernández alive.
Rosalva Hernández, sister of the man killed, feels it is important to have access to the body camera footage. “It’s very painful, but it’s important to look and not stay like that, because we want to know what happened,” she said.
Rosalva Hernández said the family is working to pursue legal action, wanting to understand why she feels police failed to assess the dangers of a high-speed pursuit in their neighborhood.
At the time of the crash, a police spokesperson told Telemundo Utah that officers had not started a chase at any time. But body camera footage shows police tracking the vehicle at what appears to be a high rate of speed.
Roxeanne Vainiku, a spokesperson for West Valley City police, later confirmed officials are conducting an administrative investigation into the case.
It is not yet clear whether the family will pursue legal action or what their arguments may be.