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NEPHI — A hospital was briefly placed on lockdown Thursday after a driver called 911 to report he had a body and a bomb in his car while driving on I-15.
Authorities later found the man had neither a body nor a bomb and was just making threats, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said.
The man, who Royce did not identify, was driving south on I-15 near the Utah-Juab county line about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the sergeant said. The man was driving recklessly, and multiple people called police to report the reckless driving, Royce said.
The man in the car then called 911 and said he had a dead body and a bomb in his car, according to Royce. The man also said that all the southbound on-ramps needed to be shut down.
Authorities did not shut down the interstate. Law enforcement officers then began looking for the man, but there was not a chase or pursuit, Royce said.
Officials later found the man’s vehicle at the Central Valley Medical Center in Nephi, Royce said. Officers found the man in the emergency room, and he was taken into custody.
A bomb squad from Utah County went to Nephi to clear the vehicle for explosives, and the hospital was briefly placed on lockdown while they searched, Royce said.
Authorities were considering intoxication and mental illness as possible factors for the episode, Royce said.
The man was in custody as of 9:30 p.m., but officials were still trying to determine whether the threats happened in Utah or Juab county so the proper jurisdiction could investigate, Royce said.
