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PROVO — A Utah County man has been accused of stealing a dump truck, striking two police cruisers, and causing additional damage on the campus of Brigham Young University.
Officers from the BYU University and Provo police departments arrested 20-year-old Brandon Carly after a slow chase Sunday evening.
Lt. Steve Messick said Carly jumped the fence at Helaman Field, near 160 E. 1650 North, in Provo, across from LaVell Edwards Stadium, and stole a BYU grounds department light duty dump truck just after 10 p.m. He attempted to exit through the west gate onto Canyon Road.
“Our officers responded to this location and obviously saw this damage, and they were talking to this witness, and as the witness was talking to them they see the truck driving by,” said Messick.
Carly reportedly drove south on Canyon Road, the wrong way on Bulldog Avenue, then drove up to 450 East and through the Marriott Center parking lot, according to the charging document.
Officials estimated the vehicle was traveling between 25 to 30 mph.
Police said Carly then drove back to Canyon Road and into Helaman Halls, where he crashed through two construction fences.
“The suspect came back into the Helaman Halls area and, of course, that concerns our officers because there are a lot of students and people around even at that time of night,” said Messick.
That was when officials said Carly rammed a BYU police cruiser. The charging document said Carly continued onto Canyon Road again, hitting two more fences.
They estimated the cost of damage on campus during the joyride was thousands of dollars.
Carly was eventually taken into custody near Larry H. Miller Field, across from the Marriott Center.
Investigators said Carly was not a student. Police believed he was homeless.
Messick said thankfully no one was hurt.
“The housing areas would have (had) a lot of students moving in and out, and walking around … There’s still a lot of people out and about at that time,” he said.
Carly was booked on multiple charges, including theft, assault on a police officer and driving under the influence.
According to the charging document, Carly admitted to taking methamphetamines about 16 hours before the incident and had a controlled substance on him when he was taken to jail.
