DUCHESNE COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 23, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A chase across two counties topped 100 mph numerous times before the suspected speeder went through a fence and high-centered on a ditch.
Events began early Friday morning when a Duchesne County Sheriff’s deputy was alerted to a vehicle chase by Wasatch County Sheriff’s deputies who had terminated the pursuit because of weather conditions. Duchesne was advised a 2007 Red Lexus was headed their way.
On the roadside on Highway 40 at mile marker 68, a deputy spotted the Lexus eastbound with a headlight out. He pulled up behind it and activated his emergency lights.
“The suspect vehicle took off at a high rate of speed,” according to court documents. “”I turned my radar to the forward position and the speed showed 130 mph.”
The Lexus continued eastbound at 113 mph and as fast as 126 mph and the officer called other police officers to set out road spikes. The pursuit slowed but continued through Duchesne City, with the driver at 50 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in 8th District Court for the driver, Maxton Tate Holbrook, 24, of Sandy.
Back on Hwy 40, Holbrook allegedly reached speeds of 110 mph as he began passing a number of semi-trucks in a no-passing zone and traversing double-yellow lines, the deputy wrote.
At mile marker 103 on Hwy 40 the suspect “turned left off of the highway and drove down off the road and through the fence, causing the vehicle to high-center on a ditch bank. (Holbrook) got out of the vehicle and was taken into custody.”
He was booked into the Duchesne County Jail on suspicion of evading, a third-degree felony, and misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and driving on a suspended license, plus infractions for speeding illegal lane change and a headlight violation. The potential charges also include one drug possession misdemeanor, although the type of drug was not detailed.
