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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say fell asleep while his car was still on the freeway, then led officers on a chase when he woke up, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of driving impaired.
About 10:20 p.m., a Utah Highway Patrol trooper came across a vehicle blocking traffic on I-80 near 2300 East with the engine still running.
"I approached on the driver side and noted a male asleep in the driver seat who was the only occupant in the car. I knocked on the window and was unable to wake him right away. I was able to wake him and get him to roll the window down. I told him to move his car out of traffic," the arresting trooper wrote in a police booking affidavit.
Rather than pull over, however, the trooper said the man began driving and wouldn't stop. The man went through a construction zone then accelerated to 80 mph on I-15 but wouldn't pull over for the trooper who was now engaged in a chase with him, according to the affidavit.
"The car drifted in and out of its lane multiple times," the affidavit says.
When the driver took the 600 South exit to downtown Salt Lake City, police terminated their pursuit and followed from a distance. Enough officers were finally able to box the car in and arrest the driver.
Domingo Moreno Zamudio, 25, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of failing to stop at the command of police, DUI, being an alcohol restricted driver and two driving infractions.
A Breathalyzer test measured Zamudio's blood-alcohol level at 0.152 percent, or three times Utah's legal limit, according to the affidavit. According to Utah court records, Zamudio pleaded guilty to impaired driving in 2017.
Law enforcement agencies across the state are conducting a DUI enforcement operation from now through the Labor Day weekend. Officers will work more than 180 overtime shifts dedicated solely to looking for impaired drivers, according to the UHP.
In 2020, there were 61 people killed in Utah's freeways because of crashes involving an impaired driver, the UHP stated. In 2021 there have been 58 fatalities as of Aug. 25.
