A suspect suspected of killing an officer in Utah was the subject of an investigation this year

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – The man suspected of killing police officer David Romrell of South Salt Lake was under investigation for killing someone with his car while he was fleeing the police earlier this year, according to court records obtained by 2News.

Felix Calata, 32, was shot dead by police officers in South Salt Lake shortly after apparently crushing police officer Romrell during a robbery Saturday night.

According to the court records, it is not the first time that Calata is accused of killing someone with his vehicle.

Earlier this year, investigators from the Utah Road Patrol said that Calata was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee that had fled from a police officer on Bangerter Highway before hitting another car , killing a passenger in the Calata jeep.

In a warrant issued on March 25, 2018, soldiers wrote that an officer of the Utah Department of Natural Resources had stopped to check a car parked on the roadside, near 5800 West 2100 South. According to the warrant, the Department of National Defense agent spotted drugs in the car.

"An MNR officer asked for Calata's identity and asked him about the pipe at that time. Calata put the Grand Cherokee on the road and started at a high speed. The MNR officer followed without pursuing and lost sight of the Grand Cherokee after passing California Avenue from Bangerter, "says the warrant.

The officer then saw a cloud of dust at the intersection of Bangerter Highway and California Avenue.

The car that was driving Calata was crushed against another car at the intersection, according to the warrant.

A passenger in Calata's car, later identified as 44-year-old Danyelle Jennings, was declared dead at the scene. Calata was ejected from the jeep – which investigators later determined to have been stolen.

Another person in the car who was hit was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

While Calata was in the hospital and treated for her injuries, a sergeant from the Utah Road Patrol wrote in the warrant that she believed that there was a probable cause against Calata for homicide by car and Felony DUI.

The soldiers used the warrant to take a sample of Calata's blood.

What happened to Calata after the first mandate was not clear.

The electronic records do not show any criminal charges against Calata in connection with the accident.

A spokesman for Utah's road patrol said the agency should check his recordings of the incident, which would only be available on Monday.

Calls to the spokesman for the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office were not immediately recalled Sunday.