Hit-run driver left teen like 'road kill'

Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008 12:08 a.m. MDT
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The way his mother sees it, Ryan Fullmer was left for dead.

The 16-year-old Layton boy was riding a motorcycle the evening of June 4 when he was hit and dragged underneath a car as it screeched and sped away from the scene.

"They left him lying in the middle of the road, not knowing if he was dead or alive," Molly Fullmer said. "I don't understand how a human being could do that and live with themselves."

The crash happened at 6:40 p.m. near 1840 Valley View Drive, just blocks away from Fullmer's east Layton home.

"He was behind another vehicle that slowed down and really quickly swerved to the left," said Layton Police Sgt. Mark Chatlin.

Ryan Fullmer believed the car was turning right and was hit when the car suddenly made a U-turn, his mother said.

"He tried to stop and hit the back left side of the car," Molly Fullmer said. "The motorcycle kind of caught and put him under the car. He was hanging on the driver's rear door, yelling, 'Stop! Stop!"'

The car dragged the teen for a moment, running over the right side of his body. Then the driver drove away, leaving Fullmer "like road kill," his grandfather, Terryl Robinson, said. "With his injuries, he wouldn't have lain there much longer before he would have bled to death."

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Fullmer broke both his legs and crushed an elbow. He was released from the hospital Tuesday night after nearly a week's worth of surgeries and treatment. Doctors expect more surgeries will be needed.

He is held together with rods and plates and screws.

"The good news is we didn't go to a funeral," Robinson said. "But to watch the grimacing on his face, even with the medication, it kind of tore us up."

A neighbor and her son saw the crash but did not get the vehicle's license plate number, Molly Fullmer said. She described the vehicle as a silver, four-door sedan. Other than that, there is little for police to go on, Chatlin said.

Investigators and Fullmer's family hope someone will step forward and provide police with information, or maybe even take responsibility for the crash. Robinson said he would personally pay a reward "between $5,000 and $10,000."

"Conscience doesn't seem to be a thing that's too rampant in society today, but someone might say, 'I can't live with this for the rest of my life,"' Robinson said.

Anyone with information can contact the Layton Police Department at 801-497-8300.


E-mail: afalk@desnews.com

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Ryan Fullmer, with two broken legs and a crushed elbow, works a computer one-handed at his home in Layton on Wednesday. (Michael Brandy, Deseret News)
Michael Brandy, Deseret News

Ryan Fullmer, with two broken legs and a crushed elbow, works a computer one-handed at his home in Layton on Wednesday.

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