3 men trying to flee from police run red light, hit 4 other cars

MILLCREEK — Unified police say it is lucky that no one was seriously injured.

On Wednesday, a vehicle with three men trying to flee police ran a red light at 3300 South and 700 East during the busy morning commute and hit three other cars. One person suffered minor injuries. That happened just a short time after the fleeing vehicle hit a fourth car, causing minor injuries to two people in that incident.

"We are very fortunate this wasn't worse," said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler.

The series of events began just after 8 a.m. when police received a call of a suspicious vehicle near 3330 South and 825 East with a man acting "strangely" inside, Cutler said. Officers found the vehicle occupied by the three men and approached it to find out what was going on.

As an officer knocked on the door of the parked car, the driver looked up and then started the car and drove off, Cutler said. The fleeing vehicle went onto 900 East and hit another vehicle, causing that vehicle to spin out, according to police. A man and a woman in that vehicle suffered minor injuries. After hitting that car, the suspects continued driving through the Rancho Markets parking lot near 3300 South and 900 East.

As police were pursuing the vehicle, the driver stopped at the intersection of 700 East and 3300 South. But moments after stopping, the driver attempted to run the red light, Cutler said. He ended up hitting three other vehicles. A man in one of those cars suffered minor injuries. Four people in the other two cars were not injured.

The three suspects got out and ran after the crash, but were quickly stopped by police and arrested.

The names of the men were not immediately released. Two were taken to a local hospital to be checked out and were expected to be taken to the Salt Lake County Jail after that. The car the men were driving was determined to be stolen. And Cutler said the vehicle was full of what appeared to be stolen property.

This story will be updated.

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