SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 27, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) ─ Two men are in the hospital Friday after crashing into a cement barrier while fleeing from police.
According to Salt Lake City Police Lt. Mike Ross, officers made a felony stop on a vehicle in the area of 400 South West Temple at 4:55 a.m. While officers were talking to a female passenger who had exited the vehicle, the driver took off.
“The vehicle was spotted a few minutes later near 800 South, but in an attempt to get away, he slammed into the concrete barrier just underneath the I-15 overpass,” Ross said. “We can see he tried to stop by the massive skid marks on the street. It’s very apparent he lost control, causing him to slam sideways into the wall.”
Lt. Ross said both the driver and the male passenger were taken by ambulance, in critical condition, to separate hospitals. The passenger has since been upgraded to stable condition.
According to Lt. Ross, the driver had several outstanding felony warrants at the time of the initial stop. No further information about the identity of the driver is being released while police notify family members about the accident.
Several panels on the overpass support structure were damaged when the car struck them, said John Gleason, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation. UDOT workers have examined the damage, and confirmed the panels were only decorative and not key to structural support.
“It was a facade on the wall, to make it aesthetically pleasing,” Gleason said, adding that the integrity of the structure was not compromised, and drivers using it need not worry.
