A nighttime drive turned tragic for two teenage girls in Cedar City, Utah, when they became the targets of an unexpected and deadly pursuit.
According to East Idaho News, four men were arrested on Saturday after two of them admitted to following and shooting at a vehicle driven by a 17-year-old girl, fatally wounding her after wrongly suspecting the teens of stalking them.
The incident occurred around 10:42 p.m. on Friday when Michael Edward Hess-Witacki, 23, and Ethan Andrew Galloway, 23, pursued the victim's red truck along a stretch of road northwest of Cedar City.
The suspects pulled up alongside the teens' vehicle and fired twelve shots, causing the young driver to lose control and crash through a vinyl fence near the intersection of Midvalley Road and 4300 West.
Fatal Misidentification Leads to Multiple Criminal Charges
Hess-Witacki and Galloway face serious charges, including murder and multiple counts of discharge of a firearm resulting in serious injury. Their accomplices, Aldric S. Felipe, 21, and Matthew D. Sorber-Petri, 22, were arrested for obstruction of justice and related charges.
The investigation revealed that all four men were found in possession of controlled substances and faced charges as restricted persons in firearm transactions.
During police interviews, both Hess-Witacki and Galloway admitted to their roles in the shooting. Hess-Witacki acknowledged driving the pursuit vehicle, while Galloway confirmed firing the fatal shots from the passenger seat. Their justification stemmed from a mistaken belief that the victims' vehicle had been stalking their neighborhood.
Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter expressed his emotional response to the senseless tragedy:
Our hearts go out to the families of these two young ladies. They weren't doing anything. They were just being teenagers having fun, and someone violently attacked them and ended their life for no apparent reason at this point.
Evidence Recovery Strengthens Criminal Investigation
The investigation gained momentum when witnesses provided crucial testimony and surveillance footage that placed the suspect vehicle in the neighborhood and at the homicide location. Deputies executed search warrants on the suspects' vehicle and residence, discovering firearms and ammunition matching the caliber used in the shooting.
Law enforcement recovered multiple pieces of evidence, including mushroom vapes, marijuana vapes, and various drug paraphernalia, from the suspects' residence. The investigation also revealed that both the victims and suspects lived in the same townhome complex, though their presence there was unrelated.
Sorber-Petrie admitted to providing his firearm to Hess-Witacki and Galloway, knowing their intended confrontational use. Felipe remained at the residence with Sorber-Petrie while aware of the others' pursuit of the victims' vehicle. In a notable development, Galloway wrote an apologetic letter to the victim's parents explaining his actions.
Tragic Outcome Leaves Community Seeking Answers
The 17-year-old driver succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds at the scene despite immediate lifesaving efforts. Her passenger sustained a leg injury during the incident but managed to call 911 for help. The victim's identity remains unreleased as the investigation continues.
Four men now face serious criminal charges following the fatal shooting of a teenage girl in Cedar City, Utah. The tragedy resulted from a catastrophic misidentification when the suspects wrongly believed they were being stalked. The case highlights the devastating consequences of vigilante actions based on unfounded suspicions, leaving a community grieving the loss of a young life.
