OREM, Utah, May 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Santaquin Police have announced initial funeral arrangements for Sgt. Bill Hooser, who was struck and killed Sunday in the line of duty.
Funeral services for Hooser, 50, will be Monday, May 13, at the UCCU Events Center at Utah Valley University. Services will begin at 10 a.m. Additional details will be announced.
Early Sunday morning, Hooser, of the Santaquin Police Department, was assisting a Utah Highway Patrol Trooper when the officers were dispatched to the scene of someone reportedly standing on the back of a semi truck.
The officers found the semi driver, believed to be Michael Aaron Jayne, who reportedly fled the scene, making a U-turn and hitting Hooser and his patrol car. Hooser died at the scene.
The trooper’s vehicle also was hit, but he was not struck by the semi and was not injured.
Jayne, later arrested after a multi-hour manhunt, led investigators to Vernal and remains hospitalized after crashing a stolen truck. He has not yet been formally charged in the case.
Gephardt Daily will have more information regarding the funeral and the case as additional details are released.