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WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Sept. 19, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Two vehicles driving recklessly in the early hours of Saturday morning led to a police pursuit and suspects in custody, but with an unexpected twist.
West Valley City Police Lt. Todd Gray said detectives were working an unrelated assignment when they saw a silver Honda Accord and a black Ford F-150 truck driving recklessly along 4100 South near 4400 West.
“At one point, the detective got behind them because they were being so reckless and observed an occupant of the Ford truck fire a shot at the other vehicle,” Gray said.
Additional officers responded to the area and attempted to stop both vehicles on Bangerter Highway, at which time the silver Honda fled and the black Ford came to a stop.
“During the course of that stop, the driver exited the (black Ford) after a short physical confrontation with the occupants inside,” Gray told Gephardt Daily.
Once police had the driver of the Ford truck in custody, the passenger in the truck jumped into the driver seat and fled in the vehicle.
Gray said that’s when officers discovered that the man they had just taken into custody, who initially had been driving the truck, was the victim of a carjacking. The suspects had taken his vehicle at gunpoint several minutes earlier.
Police pursued the Ford truck for several minutes on the freeways in West Valley into Salt Lake City and back into West Valley, where the truck became disabled and came to a stop at 3250 South on Interstate 215, Gray said. During the pursuit, he said, speeds ranged from 80 mph to 100 mph.
The three suspects in the truck were taken into custody.
The Ford truck was impounded for evidence, and the suspects were transported to the police department for further questioning.
Regarding the carjacking of the truck, Gray said the officers wouldn’t have known about it if they hadn’t tried to stop the vehicles for driving recklessly.
Gray said officials will be working to determine exactly what happened and what caused an occupant of the truck to fire a weapon at the Honda.
“If it was road rage, it’s pretty scary, that someone would use a firearm just because somebody cut somebody off or was being reckless in front of them,” Gray said. “We don’t know yet what happened. That’s what we’re going to find out.”
Gephardt Daily will update this developing story as more information is made available.
