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John Daley reporting A wild hundred mile long car chase ends with a barrel roll into the Great Salt Lake, and sends three people to jail.
A 15-year-old girl was at the wheel of that car, with speeds topping 100- miles an hour.
Today's chase along I-80 started near Wendover, Nevada. By the time it ended in Tooele, the car's tires had been spiked, it had flipped and rolled into the water, and the three people inside narrowly escaped serious injury.
It was a Starsky and Hutch-like conclusion of a wild high-speed chase: a watery accident scene...a car with bare rims...overturned...and police with guns drawn surrounding the suspects--two young men--one 17, the other 21.
The driver, a 15-year-old girl, ended up in custody in a squad car.
Why wouldn't they stop?
The trooper who lead the pursuit says:
Trooper Andrew Prescott, Utah Highway Patrol: "I have no idea. I believe she just didn't want to be caught."
The situation began near Wendover. Authorities had received information that the girl was a runaway from Tooele, driving back east from Nevada.
Along the way, the chase through the Bonneville Salt Flats hit speeds of 105 miles an hour.
Police tossed out spikes. Three tires were popped. Still they wouldn't stop.
Trooper Andrew Prescott, Utah Highway Patrol: "It's just a matter of wide open road. They don't really have any where to go. They attempted to take the off ramp at the 77. But being that there was no tires on the vehicle they couldn't stop so they slid through the intersection and continued eastbound on I-80."
Eventually--the final tire blew out...causing the dangerous conclusion to a potentially deadly pursuit.
Trooper Andrew Prescott, Utah Highway Patrol: "It was just one of those things where they didn't want to get caught. Fortunately no one was hurt."
The girl will be charged with driving without a license, without a seat belt--and obviously speeding.
Police say the car may have been stolen.
