SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Gephardt Daily) — Police say a 20-year-old man upset over not being able to purchase a plane ticket Friday morning carjacked two vehicles and then caused several crashes in Parleys Canyon.
John Joseph Thomas Green was arrested following a crime spree that started at Salt Lake City International Airport and ended with a crash on Interstate 80 near Atkinson in Summit County, police said.
Salt Lake City police say the investigation began about 5 a.m., when the department’s Airport Division was alerted to a disruption at a ticket counter regarding a same-day flight to Denver. Police say Green became upset after he was unable to obtain a ticket.
When officers responded, Green “left the area, found an occupied vehicle in the airport passenger pick-up area, forced the driver out and stole it,” according to a news release from the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Police say Green left the airport in the stolen SUV and later crashed into a silver car near 2100 South and 900 West. He made a U-turn and crashed into a white BMW SUV, the release states.
Police say Green then tried to force the driver of the BMW out of her vehicle. The man tried “multiple times to pull the woman from her SUV,” but the woman fought back and her seat belt remained buckled, police said.
Police say Green returned to the SUV stolen at the airport and headed east on 2100 South toward South Salt Lake. He later crashed into a car and nearly hit a building at 2860 S. West Temple, where he exited the SUV and carjacked a black Dodge Durango, police said.
“Investigators are working to determine whether John used a firearm during this carjacking,” the release states.
In the stolen Durango, Green began heading east on I-80, where the Utah Department of Public Safety says he was driving recklessly and involved in up to five crashes before 6 a.m., including a rollover near Parleys Summit.
After crashing in Atkinson near milepost 148, Green “attempted to carjack eastbound vehicles but was unsuccessful,” DPS said in a news release.
Police say Green was throwing rocks at vehicles on westbound I-80 in an attempt to get them to stop. He was attempting to carjack a Toyota Tacoma about 6:15 a.m. when Summit County sheriff’s deputies arrived and took him into custody.
Two people injured in crashes near Parleys Summit were transported to an area hospital with minor injuries, police said. No other injuries from the carjackings and crashes were reported.
Police did not pursue the Durango during the incident, according to DPS.
Green was transported to an area hospital for observation, police said. He is expected to be booked into the Summit County Jail for investigation of several charges.
