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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was seriously injured, and a Salt Lake police officer lucky to escape injury, on Tuesday while both were trying to stop a fleeing vehicle.
The trooper fell an unknown distance off of an overpass near the intersection of I-80 and 7200 West while trying to deploy tire spikes, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. He was flown to a local hospital in serious condition. A Salt Lake police officer, meanwhile, was not injured when the officer's car was hit by the fleeing SUV, according to police.
The chain of events began just after 10 a.m. when three people were observed doing drugs inside a Dodge Durango in the parking lot of the Northwest Recreation Center, 1255 W. Clark Ave. Salt Lake City police spotted the SUV and attempted to pull it over near 960 W. North Temple, according to a police booking affidavit.
Police say the vehicle, driven by 34-year-old Sammy Michael Swickey, took off through a McDonald's parking lot and ran a red light at 1000 W. North Temple. However, police did not chase after it, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Mark Wian.
Another officer spotted the SUV about 15 minutes later near 7200 West and 1300 South. That officer attempted to stop the SUV but was hit by the fleeing vehicle. Wian said the officer's patrol car had minor damage and the officer was not injured.
By this time, UHP troopers were also in the area to assist Salt Lake police. As the SUV approached the intersection of I-80 and 7200 West, a trooper was outside of his vehicle preparing to deploy tire spikes when he "fell off the bridge while pulling the deflation device back," the UHP stated.
UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said whether the SUV hit the trooper and knocked him off or swerved at him in an attempt to hit him was still being investigated.
The Department of Public Safety helicopter followed the SUV to 5600 West, where it stopped in the parking lot of a hotel, 307 Admiral Byrd Road. The helicopter then returned to the scene where the trooper had fallen and transported him to a local hospital in serious condition, Roden said.
Once he exited the SUV, Swickey ran toward another nearby hotel and entered, the affidavit states. Officers searched the hotel and just as officers were exiting, they spotted Swickey walking in and took him into custody. They learned that the two passengers were dropped off on Indiana Avenue, according to the affidavit.
Swickey was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault, drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of failing to stop at the command of police, driving on a revoked license and running a red light.
As of Tuesday afternoon, police said the trooper, whose name was not immediately released, was "stable."
