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The man allegedly ran over a 63-year-old man in the car wash parking lot before fleeing the scene
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The man allegedly ran over a 63-year-old man in the car wash parking lot before fleeing the scene

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

According to one series of press releases from the Ogden Police Department — located north of Salt Lake City — a man identified as Christian Hernandez Palma, 21, struck Stirling Kelso, 63, while he was cleaning the parking lot on Wednesday car wash on Wednesday around 5:00 PM local time. , October 30.

Kelso was pronounced dead at the scene, and police said Palma fled before officers arrived. According to police, Kelso was not an employee of the car wash. It is not clear why he was cleaning the parking lot.

Ogden police vehicle.

Ogden Police UT/Facebook


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

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

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

The affidavit obtained by KSL.com shows Palma also stopped to speak with a truck driver whose vehicle had the company’s logo printed on it. Police followed the business from the logo and found Palma’s Lexus in the company’s parking lot. The car had damage to its front bumper and undercarriage “consistent with a car-pedestrian collision” and police arrested Palma shortly after.

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

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

“I just spoke to him last night,” she told the media. “He loves eagles – he’s an eagle man, loves anything with eagles, collects anything with eagles. He will fly with the eagles.”

Ogden police said in a news release that Palma was booked into the Weber County Jail on multiple charges, including felony hit and run for leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license and failure to keep safe and proper.