Man charged with murder for allegedly causing fatal car crash after sexual assault, hit-and-run
12/09/2025 4:00 pm PST
SALT LAKE CITY (TCN) -- A man is in custody for allegedly causing a fatal highway car crash after assaulting a teenage girl and ramming her with his car.
At 1:50 a.m. on Nov. 29, officers responded to reports of a hit-and-run crash at the parking garage of a DoubleTree hotel, KSL reports, where a 17-year-old girl had been run over.
Witnesses told responding officers they had been staying in a hotel room with the driver who allegedly caused the hit-and-run, Jose Torres Jimenez, 21. The girl was awakened to Torres Jimenez allegedly touching her inappropriately, and the three began arguing, KSL reports.
According to the charging documents obtained by KSL, the girl and her boyfriend followed Torres Jimenez to the parking garage. Torres Jimenez ran to his car, got in, and allegedly accelerated toward the girl and hit her head-on. She reportedly suffered a concussion with memory loss, bruising, scrapes, and a cut that required stitches, according to the outlet.
The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that on Nov. 29 at 1:53 a.m., a gray Audi SQ5 entered the I-15 going the wrong way and collided head-on with a black Nissan Rogue, which burst into flames. The driver of the Audi was Torres Jimenez, and he sustained minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. A breath test recorded his blood alcohol level at more than double the legal limit, KSL reports.
The driver and passenger of the Nissan, Leo Shepherd, 18, and Anneka Wilson, 17, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the DPS.
On Dec. 7, Jimenez was charged with two counts of murder, forcible sexual abuse, aggravated assault, going the wrong way on the highway while driving under the influence, and violating his learner’s permit, according to KSL.
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