DRAPER — A Sandy man who police say was driving a motorcycle that crashed in Draper a couple of weeks ago, killing his passenger, is being investigated for a possible automobile homicide.
On Aug. 14, a man riding a 2007 Harley Davidson Softail motorcycle downhill on Traverse Ridge Road lost control of his bike, police say.
The man "laid the bike down," and both he and his passenger, Charity Hardman, "slid for a long distance before impacting a large boulder," according to a search warrant affidavit filed in 3rd District Court that was unsealed Wednesday.
Hardman died in the crash. The 40-year-old man driving the motorcycle was taken to a local hospital for "emergency surgery on his leg and arm" but was not in life-threatening condition, the warrant states.
During an interview with the man at the hospital, police learned that he "does not have a motorcycle endorsement and he has not operated a motorcycle for at least 15 years. (The man) stated he was not familiar with this Harley Davidson motorcycle and he allegedly experienced problems when the floorboards of the motorcycle contacted the road surface during a turn," according to the affidavit.
The man, who has not been arrested or charged, also claimed to have had one alcoholic drink about five hours before the crash, the warrant states. The investigating officer noted that he could still detect alcohol on the man's breath at the hospital after the crash.