Man celebrating birthday pleads guilty to killing friend in DUI crash

SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of killing a passenger in his vehicle while speeding and driving under the influence following a birthday celebration pleaded guilty Tuesday.

John F. Bishop, 37, was scheduled to stand trial Tuesday on 11 separate charges, but instead pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to automobile homicide, a second-degree felony, and two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a third-degree felony.

Four additional counts of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a third-degree felony, were dismissed in exchange for Bishop's plea as were misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, failure to remain at an accident, operating a vehicle without an interlock device system and driving with alcohol restrictions.

Bishop was charged in connection with a April 1, 2009, accident that left Jason Palmer, 26, dead. According to witness testimony, Palmer was one of a group of men who was celebrating Bishop's birthday. The group started at a party thrown by Global Marketing Alliance, which many of them worked for, and then moved on to the Trails bar.

They were headed east on I-80 — with the speedometer climbing as high as 140 mph according to some witnesses — when Bishop rear-ended another vehicle, killing Palmer.

Police said Bishop walked away from the crash, but they tracked him down when he sought treatment at a hospital. His blood-alcohol level was 0.10. The legal limit in Utah is 0.08.

Bishop will be sentenced Aug. 22. 

— Emiley Morgan Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam