PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

MARCH 25, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact Information: PolicePRUnit@slcgov.com

Media Request Form: https://slcpd.com/mediarequest/

SLCPD Provides Update on Series of Vehicular Attempted Murder Cases

SALT LAKE CITY — Today, the Salt Lake City Police Department announced detectives with its Auto Theft/Hit and Run Unit and the Collision Analysis & Reconstruction (CAR) Team have linked a 26-year-old man to four hit-and-run crashes where the driver is accused of intentionally crashing into community members.

“The allegations in this case are very serious,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown. “Many of the people impacted by these hit-and-runs have very serious physical injuries and the emotional toll on them may last a lifetime. We are fortunate none of the victims were killed. Our detectives have spent a considerable amount of time piecing these cases together.”

The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, on behalf of the State of Utah, filed a criminal complaint, which includes attempted murder.

Anh Pham is accused of being responsible for the following crashes:

August 22, 2023 – Pham is accused of hitting a 36-year-old woman at 1000 West 500 South.

February 24, 2024 – Pham is accused of hitting a 50-year-old woman and a juvenile at 1700 East Lipman Drive. The Sandy Police Department is investigating this case.

February 28, 2024 – Pham is accused of hitting a 44-year-old woman and a 50-year-old woman at Laird Avenue and Douglas Street.

March 11, 2024 – Pham is accused of hitting a 20-year-old woman at 600 West North Temple. The crash resulted in critical injuries to the victim.

While the CAR Team investigated the March 11 crash, detectives distributed a flyer hoping to identify the suspect car.

A detective with the SLCPD’s Auto Theft/Hit and Run Unit, investigating several of the earlier hit and runs, recognized the car in the March 11 crash matched the description in the other hit and run crashes.

On Wednesday, March 13, 2024, detectives arrested Pham and booked him into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on charges connected to the March 11, 2024 case.

Detectives from the CAR Team and SLCPD Auto Theft/Hit and Run Unit began reviewing other hit and run reports and found consistencies from the cases, including the description of the suspect’s car and witness statements who said the crashes appeared intentional.

The Salt Lake City Police Department’s Intel and Analysis Unit also greatly contributed to this investigation.

The investigation into these, and other cases, are ongoing. Additional charges could be filed as the investigation proceeds. To protect the ongoing investigations, no additional information about the individual cases is available for release.

Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is not the custodian of record for jail booking photos. Utah Code 17-22-30 mostly prohibits the release of jail booking photos. Generally, a jail booking photo can only be released by the custodian of record after a conviction or when law enforcement determines the person is a fugitive or an imminent threat to a person or public safety. In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the custodian of record for jail booking photos.

The CAR Team is a multi-jurisdictional crash team that investigates crashes involving serious physical injuries or death. Members of the CAR Team receive specialized training in collision examination, speed analysis, vehicle dynamics, occupant kinematics, scene photography, surveying equipment, crash scene mapping, evidence collection and computer aided drawing programs.

The CAR Team includes law enforcement from the Salt Lake City Police Department and several other Salt Lake Valley law enforcement agencies.

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