Justin Dewayne Bennett, a 43-year-old White male, died on July 1, 2023, in a tragic sequence of events that began with a fatal traffic accident. Late that Saturday night, at approximately 11:18 p.m., a white Toyota Tundra struck and killed 63-year-old bicyclist Kevin Reed Jessop of Bountiful on Frontage Road in Centerville, Utah. The driver of the truck, later identified as Bennett, did not stop and fled the scene of the accident.
Witnesses to the collision were able to provide police
with a description of the vehicle that had left the scene. This information led officers from the Centerville Police Department to the West Bountiful residence of Justin Dewayne Bennett. Outside the home, officers discovered vehicle parts on the ground that were consistent with the hit-and-run accident. Shortly after their arrival, officers made brief contact with Bennett outside of his house.
Following the brief encounter with law enforcement, Bennett retreated into his home. Officers then heard a single gunshot come from inside the residence. A search warrant was obtained, and upon entering the house, law enforcement officials found Bennett deceased from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Toyota Tundra involved in the fatal accident was discovered inside his garage and was taken by Centerville detectives for evidence processing. The investigation into the circumstances of the initial collision is ongoing, with the Centerville and West Bountiful Police departments jointly handling the investigation into Bennett's death.
