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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man trying to get away from police in a stolen truck hit a woman head-on while driving the wrong way down a one-way street, killing the woman, police said Wednesday.
Cesar Perez, 23, was arrested for investigation of murder, aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault on an officer, failing to stop at the command of police and fleeing.
The incident happened in the area around Valley Fair Mall, 3601 S. 2700 West. The name of the 52-year-old Salt Lake woman who was killed has not yet been released pending notification of family.
The incident began just before 9 a.m. near the Fairbourne Station and Promenade, which is next to West Valley City Hall and the West Valley Police Department. Officers doing a routine walk-through of the area spotted Perez smoking marijuana. When the officers stopped to talk to him, Perez ran, said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku.
He ran across the parking lot and came across a crew doing electrical work, Vainuku said. Perez got inside their work truck and drove off, hitting one of the workers in the process, she said. The worker was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Another officer spotted the stolen truck on 2700 West turning into the parking lot of Valley Fair Mall. After fleeing from the officer, the truck was spotted again near the south end of the mall near Costco, 3747 S. 2700 West, Vainuku said. But as officers closed in on Perez, he tried to flee again by ramming two patrol cars as he drove off, she said.
Perez then drove to 2400 West, which is a narrow one-way street between the east side of the mall and I-215. The man drove the wrong way — going north on the southbound road — and hit another vehicle head-on, killing a 52-year-old woman. The crash also caused the stolen truck to roll.
Perez suffered minor injuries, Vainuku said. After he was interviewed by detectives, he was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
