SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 5, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Police are hoping to find the suspect in a Saturday night carjacking that went beyond simply stealing a vehicle.
SLCPD Lt. Andy Leonard said a woman in the Sunnyside neighborhood, near Sunnyside Avenue and Foothill Drive, came out of her garage at about 7:30 p.m. and saw an unknown man sitting in her car.
As the woman retreated, the man pushed his way into her home, demanding the car keys.
“The man found the keys on his own and got into the car,” Leonard told Gephardt Daily. “A family member tried to stop him and was hit by the car.”
Leonard didn’t think the family member was injured.
A short while later, the suspect called the police from the vehicle. He said he wanted to talk to the officers and told them where he was. When the police got there, sure enough the man was waiting in the stolen car. He then drove directly at one of the officers before taking off at high speed.
The police pursued him, Leonard said, but finally terminated the chase because of heavy traffic and the danger to the public.
“We constantly weigh the risk to society, the risk of the pursuit and the risk of this suspect harming someone,” he said.
No one was injured during the incident, and the only damage was a flat tire on one of the police cars during the pursuit.
Police did not provide a description of the suspect or the vehicle.
