WEST JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) – A man who allegedly ran over and killed a West Jordan teen has now been charged.
Mason Andrew Ohms, 50, has been charged with one count of criminal homicide, one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, one count of obstructing justice, and one count of failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
On April 26, Ohms allegedly hit and ran over 13-year-old Eli Mitchell as he was riding his bike home from a local grocery store, court records state. Ohms was driving south on 1510 W waiting for a red light to change so he could make a right-hand turn onto 9000 South.
When Mitchell entered the crosswalk, Ohms “accelerated hard into his right turn” hitting Mitchell with the front and back tires of his car.
Ohms continued driving after the accident, with Mitchell’s bike wedged beneath Ohms’s Chevy Silverado pickup truck. Witnesses say after Ohms drove a short distance down 9000 S, he made a U-turn and came back towards the scene. Instead of stopping, Ohms turned left onto 1510 W and drove into a parking lot.
Ohms then got out of his car, dislodged the bike from his truck, discarded it behind a business, and continued driving down 1510 W.
When initially questioned by police, Ohms said, “I felt a bump and did not know what it was,” court records state.
Officers say they smelled the odor of alcohol coming from Ohms and also saw him on video footage at a local bar consuming seven beers in just under six hours.
Records show that Ohms has a long history of alcohol-related offenses including multiple DUIs, assault, and impersonating a police officer.
Mitchell was a student at West Jordan Middle School.
