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SANDY — A man who police say attempted to hit an officer with his car before leading law enforcement on a half-hour chase was arrested in Sandy early Friday after his car ran out of gas.
The incident began about 3:45 a.m. when a Unified police officer attempted to pull over a BMW near 7600 S. State for not having any license plates, said Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke.
The car fled. At that point, the officer did not pursue. However, other officers saturated the area and once again spotted the vehicle about 4 a.m. The officers had tire spikes in place. But as the driver fled near 600 E. Fort Union Blvd., "the car swerved and tried to hit one of our officers who jumped out of the way," Lohrke said.
The driver "crossed several lanes of traffic, crossing into oncoming lanes, and drove straight toward the officer," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
At that point, officers from multiple agencies chased the vehicle. The ensuing chase went through Murray, Midvale, West Jordan and Sandy. At one point, the tires of the BMW were successfully spiked, but the vehicle kept moving, according to police.
The @UPDSL is handling this incident the suspect is in custody @KSL5TV#KSLAMpic.twitter.com/szyNBtda1s
— Derek Petersen (@Derek_Photog) November 17, 2017
About 30 minutes later, the fleeing BMW ran out of gas on 10600 South near 150 East. The driver got out and ran, and then tried to resist arrest, Lohrke said. A Taser was used to bring the man into custody.
Juan Arias, 28, was arrested for investigation of a number of charges, including aggravated assault, reckless driving, failing to stop at the command of a law enforcer and resisting arrest.
Court records show Arias' prior charges include intoxication, impaired driving and drug-related crimes.
