PROVO, Utah, Dec. 1, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Provo police say two officers were injured early Friday when an allegedly impaired 24-year-old man driving without a license plate fled officers and crashed into a police vehicle and two parked cars.
An officer was attempting to pull over a vehicle for not having a license plate displayed, near 300 South and 500 West about 2:30 a.m., when the driver fled, the Provo Police Department stated in a news release.
Police initially did not pursue the vehicle due to safety concerns. That changed when another officer spotted the vehicle, and the driver, later identified as Tareq Basem Hamdan, attempted to crash into the police vehicle, according to the news release.
“With the act of the suspect attempting to ram my vehicle, I considered this to be an act of aggravated assault against me and I initiated my overhead lights and attempted to stop the vehicle,” the arresting Provo police officer says in a probable cause statement.
Police say Hamdan fled from police for approximately 12 blocks, at times driving the wrong way in traffic lanes and hitting curbs before ending up at an apartment complex.
Hamdan crashed into two parked cars near the apartment complex before exiting the vehicle and continuing to flee on foot, police said.
Officers later caught up to Hamdan and took him into custody. His vehicle, however, was left in reverse and ended up crashing into a patrol vehicle, police said.
“He did not however comply with any commands and had to forcibly be placed into handcuffs and taken into custody,” the affidavit says.
Two officers suffered undisclosed injuries during the pursuit and arrest, including one who was treated at an area hospital, police said.
Hamdan also received medical treatment related to his jumping off a high wall during the pursuit, police said.
Methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia were found in his vehicle, police said.
Police say Hamdan has two previous convictions in the past 10 years for driving under the influence and several convictions for drug possession. He is being held without bail in the Utah County Jail for investigation of:
- Aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Failure to respond to officer’s signal to stop, fleeing, causing property damage or bodily injury, a third-degree felony
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a third-degree felony
- Possession of a controlled substance, class A misdemeanor
- Failure to stop at the command of a peace officer, a class A misdemeanor
- Reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Interference with a peace officer, a class B misdemeanor
- Accident involving property damage, a class B misdemeanor
- Driving a motor vehicle with a revoked driver’s license, a class B misdemeanor
