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STOCKTON, Tooele County — Susan Hunt, the mother of a man fatally shot by police in 2014, was taken to a hospital Tuesday night after a run-in with a Utah Highway Patrol trooper.
UHP Sgt. Todd Royce said a woman driving recklessly was stopped near Stockton and then taken to a local hospital. He said "impairment is being investigated as a cause" in the case.
The UHP initially declined to reveal the name of the woman until the Deseret News independently confirmed the driver was Hunt and published a story Wednesday evening. Troopers then confirmed Hunt's identity but noted that she was not arrested.
Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer also confirmed that the driver of the car his deputies impounded Tuesday night was Susan Hunt of Saratoga Springs.
Hunt's attorney, Paul Lydolph, would not talk about the incident Wednesday. "I'm just not going to make any comment to the media," he said.
Troopers received information just before 9 p.m. Tuesday about a reckless driver on state Route 73 near Ophir Junction. Another driver reported a "vehicle was all over the road, crossing into eastbound travel lanes, driving reckless," Royce said.
When a trooper spotted the vehicle on state Route 36, it was driving the wrong way down the road and still weaving, Royce said.
On the trooper's dashcam video released Wednesday evening, the trooper is heard telling a dispatcher, "It's coming right at me," before he puts his patrol car into reverse to get out of the way.
"It just missed me," he tells the dispatcher before turning on his lights and sirens and pursing the car.
The trooper moved ahead of the vehicle and positioned his car to cut off the weaving vehicle. Hunt's car slowed down but did not stop in time, hitting the patrol car's front right door while traveling at a low rate of speed, Royce said.
After the bump, the trooper can be heard in the video approaching the driver and telling her that she hit his vehicle.
"You see that car right there next to you? You don't see the car next to you? That's me. You hit me. You came into oncoming traffic and you almost hit me head on," the trooper said.
Hunt is barely audible in the video. At the 2:39 mark of the video clip, it abrubtly stops. Royce said Wednesday that the UHP was not releasing the rest of the video at this time due to medical privacy issues based on the woman's behavior from that point.
"The video is short because of medical conditions revealed in the conversation with the individual," Royce said.
Neither the trooper nor Hunt were injured due to the bump, and the UHP patrol car suffered very minor damage, according to the sergeant.
Although "impairment is being investigated" in the incident, Royce said Hunt was taken to a local hospital for "medical reasons that did not pertain to the two vehicles colliding."
"Whenever we stop a vehicle or things to that effect, if we notice that there are some medical issues going on or anything to that effect, then we need to get them medical attention first before we take any criminal action," Royce said.
He declined Wednesday to elaborate on what signs she was exhibiting that caused the trooper to call for an ambulance.
Hunt is the mother of Darrien Hunt, 22, who was shot and killed by Saratoga Springs police in 2014 after he was questioned about carrying a souvenir katana sword near a business area.
The shooting was determined to be legally justified by the Utah County Attorney's Office. Susan Hunt and the estate of Darrien Hunt later filed a federal lawsuit against Saratoga Springs claiming the man's civil rights were violated. The lawsuit has since turned into a battle between Susan Hunt, the city and her former attorney, Bob Sykes, whom Hunt fired after claiming he accepted a settlement without her consent. Hunt now says she shouldn't have to pay Sykes for his representation.
Saratoga Springs contends that Hunt had, in fact, agreed to a $900,000 settlement and has asked a judge to make her accept it. The judge's decision was still pending as of Wednesday.
In November of 2014, about two months after her son was killed, Hunt was charged in Saratoga Springs Justice Court after getting into a confrontation with officers. She was charged with interfering with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor; driving on a denied license, a class C misdemeanor; failing to disperse, a class C misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct, an infraction.
Hunt resolved the case last September with a diversion agreement, agreeing that misdemeanor charges against Hunt will be dismissed in six months if Hunt violates no laws and completes grief counseling. A diversion agreement does not require a plea from the defendant and essentially puts the case on hold until it is eventually dismissed, contingent on the terms of the agreement being met.
