LOGAN — A 45-year-old Smithfield man has admitted to hitting a pedestrian in a Logan parking lot while drunk last summer. Rebecca Leishman sustained critical injuries and later died.
According to court records, Chad Hurren Saunders appeared June 22 in 1st District Court. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to manslaughter, amended to a second-degree felony.
On Aug. 15, 2025, Logan police officers arrived at the car-pedestrian crash and transported Leishman to the hospital in an ambulance. She was later flown to a trauma center, where medical staff said she was in critical condition with serious head trauma.
Logan police identified the driver as Saunders and let him leave the scene without conducting field sobriety tests. Officers later called him, and he agreed to a blood draw.
An officer said he “immediately detected the heavy odor of alcohol on his breath” when Saunders arrived at the police station.
The officer reported that Saunders “spontaneously admitted to drinking heavily last night, and again drinking in the morning.” The officer noted Saunders’ emotions were sporadic, and he asked repetitive questions throughout the encounter.
Saunders’ father confirmed that Saunders did not consume any additional alcohol after leaving the scene. He was arrested and booked into the Cache County Jail and later released on $10,000 bail.
According to court records, Saunders is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 4.