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OREM -- Two men are in the Utah County Jail after police say they kidnapped a man and later nearly ran over a police officer.
Police were called Wednesday morning by a relative of a man who says he had been kidnapped Tuesday evening by two men that said he owned them money.
The suspects, 32-year-old Kenny Prows and 29-year-old Joshua Williams, allegedly took the man up Provo Canyon Tuesday night where they beat him. They then dropped him off at his Orem home where they told the victim they would be back to get the money.
Orem police Sgt. Craig Martinez said a responding officer spotted the suspects in a Jeep. The officer parked around the corner from suspect vehicle and approached them on foot.
"When they saw (the officer) they tried to take off. They nearly ran him over," said Martinez.
The officer ran back to his car and tried to follow, but by then the suspects were speeding off through residential neighborhoods.
At some point, the passenger in the Jeep got out and ran away on foot. The driver kept going and even drove onto a few sidewalks and yards. Police said he was having trouble controlling the vehicle while making turns at the high rate of speed.
Police lost the vehicle for a time until they received a call from a resident saying an SUV had driven through a fence.
Police then located the Jeep near 100 North and 600 East. It had driven through a fence and crashed in an orchard, but the driver had run off.
Police were able to track down and arrest both suspects Wednesday night.
They were booked for aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and assault among other charges.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com