Salt Lake City man charged with murder after allegedly crashing stolen car while avoiding police spikes

A 22-year-old Salt Lake City man was charged with murder Wednesday after allegedly crashing a stolen car to avoid police-used spikes on the street.

Wasatch County and Heber City Sheriff’s Office found Charles Dwight Caster driving a stolen vehicle in Wasatch County on September 22, according to indictment documents. The officers tried several times to stop him, but Caster fled onto Highway 40, where he initially avoided flat tires that were used by the Utah Highway Patrol. However, it crashed after dodging to avoid a second set of spikes deployed by the Summit County’s deputy sheriff’s deputies.

Caster and his passenger were both thrown out of the vehicle during the impact, the woman dying from her injuries, according to records.

An accident reconstruction carried out by the West Valley City Police Department revealed that Caster overcorrected when changing lanes from the right hard shoulder to the right lane and lost control of the vehicle. Then the car came off the lane and “rolled several times”. Caster was driving between 92 and 103 mph at the time of the crash, the documents say.

Caster has been charged with first degree murder, second degree of receiving or handing over a stolen motor vehicle, and third degree of failing to respond to an officer signal to stop.