SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 18, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 51-year-old woman led police on an hour long chase across the Salt Lake Valley late Friday night into early Saturday morning, on the run at an alleged 90 mph for reasons yet unknown.
No injuries or damage resulted, police said, although the woman will be charged with aggravated assault on a police officer whom she allegedly tried to run down with her Toyota Rav 4 during an attempted traffic stop. Police said she was turning around on a dead end street near 900 West Gold Place when she nearly hit the officer who was outside of his patrol vehicle.
Over the next hour, Salt Lake City police were joined by officers from West Valley City, Taylorsville, the Unified Police Department and the Utah Highway Patrol, SLCPD Sgt. Jeffrey North told Gephardt Daily.
That included UHP’s Star 8 St. George-based helicopter, in town as part of the security apparatus for the NBA All-Star weekend. When police shut down down the chase due to safety concerns, the chopper crew continue tracking the vehicle from the air.
The woman seemed most interested in an east-west trajectory during her travels, her path keeping scanner fans buzzing as they tracked her route. Police confirmed the city and countywide dash went as far up 2300 East and as far out as 5600 West, while staying between 3300 South and 600 South.
Speeds reached 90 mph at times on the west side, and she at least twice made use of Interstate 80 but never attempting Interstate 15, during the first half of the hour-long drama. The pursuit was called off just after midnight, North said, when she headed back into town at 600 South.
The chopper was able to keep tabs on the white Toyota as its route went as far east as Sugar House and the foothills before at least two sets of police-laid tire spikes finally stopped her in the area of 3100 S. West Temple.
North said it wasn’t clear if she stopped on her own or if it was the fact she was down to her rims from the tire spikes. She was taken into custody without incident.
The woman wasn’t impaired, no drugs or alcohol were found in the car, and she doesn’t appear to have a criminal record or any outstanding warrants, North told Gephardt Daily two hours after her arrest. She was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and faces multiple counts of evading police, reckless driving as well as the assault on a police officer charge.
“I’m sure we’ll hear what the reason was eventually,” he said. “But at this point, we don’t have anything from her as to why she ran. It would be nice to know.”
