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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
There's a speeder out there somewhere that the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) would like to talk to.
Troopers tried pulling him over on I-15 this morning, but he sped off. They say, at one point, he was doing 100 miles per hour when he went onto Legacy Parkway.
Dash-cam video shows just how close the speeder came to hitting other cars. UHP troopers say he was driving so recklessly, they decided it was too dangerous to keep chasing him.
In the video, it's difficult to see the truck in front of the UHP trooper's car because the chase happened just as the sun was coming up. But right away, it's easy to see why the trooper wanted to pull him over.
The driver of the pickup truck took off. It happened on I-15 southbound near Lagoon, where the trooper had to pull over because of construction barrels.
But the driver of the truck kept going, eventually getting onto Legacy Parkway where another UHP trooper clocked him at more than 100 miles per hour.
"Whatever it was, something scared him. And he absolutely does not want to be caught by police," said Sgt. Jeff Nigbur, spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol.
The driver went through a barrier on Legacy Parkway, drove onto the pedestrian walkway and went through West Bountiful and North Salt Lake. That's where police agencies lost him, right after the UHP decided to call off the chase.
Of course, it is difficult for any trooper to let someone go, especially when they know that someone should be caught. But in this case, Nigbur says both troopers probably made the right decision.
"He said, ‘I need to terminate this pursuit. It's a little bit too dangerous for me and the public.' So, that's exactly what he did," Nigbur said.
Now, UHP troopers are just hoping they meet again, and not on the road. "Sometimes that doesn't happen, but getting the guy isn't worth hurting people," Nigbur said.
That truck was a gray Chevy Silverado. The last time police saw it was in the Beck Street-Victory Road area of North Salt Lake.
If you have any information on this incident, or where the driver can be located, contact the Utah Highway Patrol at (801) 965-4518.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com