SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (KUTV) — A man walking along a South Salt Lake road on Sept. 11 was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash, and 2News Investigates found the driver had a long history of license suspensions and revocations.
South Salt Lake police and prosecutors in the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said James Shama Pualale, 53, of West Valley City, hit and killed 51-year-old Tewelde Mekenon and left the scene. Authorities said that on or about Sept. 12, 2026, Pualale “went home and ate and didn’t call for help.”
According to a probable cause affidavit, police were dispatched at 10:05 p.m. Sept. 11 to an ambulance at 3625 South 900 West. South Salt Lake Police Officer Ricks found several car parts scattered across the roadway, including one with a partial serial number. The affidavit says Ricks used Google to search the serial number, and it returned a driver-side mirror belonging to a 2014-2020 Toyota Sienna…