Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A police officer is expected to recover after he was seriously injured when he jumped from an overpass during a pursuit of a suspect Wednesday evening, Salt Lake police said.
The officer was injured during the pursuit of a man, identified as 20-year-old Jesser Cardina-Videa, who fled during a traffic stop near 600 W. North Temple shortly after 6 p.m., according to Salt Lake Police Det. Greg Wilking.
Wilking said the officer was chasing Cardina-Videa and both jumped from an overpass, which Wilking estimated was about a 20-foot drop. The officer was injured in the fall, while Cardina-Videa escaped.
"The individual driving the vehicle fled. Our officers gave chase and they ended up on the freeway and that individual that was running from us actually jumped off the freeway (and) broke his fall using a tree," Wilking said. "Our officer that was chasing after him followed and unfortunately wasn't able to break his fall like the suspect and was injured."
Cardina-Videa was taken into custody shortly after. Police tweeted out at 9:30 p.m. that he was arrested on suspicion of failing to stop at an officer's command, resisting arrest and two outstanding felony warrants.
The officer was taken to a local hospital in serious condition, Wilking added. Police said the officer's injuries had been stablized and he is conscious.
North Temple was closed in both directions while police looked for the suspect.
Wilking called the chase and the ensuing fall "a scary situation."
"It’s one of those situations where you’ve got a guy running from you, it’s kind of hard to give up on that," he said. "We want to take these people into custody and hopefully they find justice. And it’s a little hard to let that adrenaline go and take your foot off the gas pedal."
Contributing: Paul Nelson, Geoffrey Thatcher, Alex Cabrero, Ben Lockhart
