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MAGNA — A man led Utah Highway Patrol troopers on a long chase Saturday afternoon — first in an SUV, then in a semitruck stolen from a Grantsville Walmart Distribution Center, officials said.
The incident began about 1 p.m. Saturday when a trooper pulled over a black Cadillac Escalade on eastbound I-80 in rural Tooele County, according to UHP trooper Mikki Vargas. When the trooper ran the vehicle's plates, he found out they were stolen and called for backup.
But before backup could arrive, two passengers in the car got out and ran away on foot and the driver took off, Vargas said.
The first trooper focused on the running passengers, who were eventually apprehended; meanwhile, the trooper's backup pursued the vehicle on I-80.
Troopers lost track of the vehicle a couple of times, Vargas said, but relocated it and put down spikes on the highway. But she said the driver realized what was happening and drove the wrong direction down an on-ramp, forcing troopers to terminate the pursuit.
"Then they received a call from a Walmart distribution center," Vargas said. "They stated that someone had just stolen their semitruck and trailer. So, the same guy stole that truck and trailer and he got on the freeway."
Officers tried to spike the truck, but Vargas said the driver swerved the vehicle toward the officers each time. Finally, officers successfully spiked the vehicle and took the driver into custody at the intersection of state Route 201 and 9180 West in Magna.
