WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Oct. 27, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A wanted man is behind bars Friday after police say he led them on a high-speed chase in a stolen car, even driving on spike-shredded tires before he finally surrendered.
Just before midnight on Thursday, West Valley Police officers spotted the man sleeping in a car reported stolen that day from Murray. The man was parked at Bangerter Highway and 35th Street, according to information released.
“We set up spikes in anticipation that he may flee,” Lt. Mike Fossmo, West Valley City Police Department, told Gephardt Daily. “He has a history of that. We were able to successfully spike the vehicle, however he was able to continue fleeing. It did assist us with reducing some of those speeds.”
The car traveled onto State Route 201, then onto Interstate 15, Fossmo said. It continued east on 3300 South, into the Millcreek area, he said.
“At one point it reached 100 (miles per hour),” he said. “At another point, it dropped down to 5 mph.”
A pit maneuver was attempted to stop the fleeing vehicle.
“I don’t know how successful it was, but a number of attempts were made to stop the pursuit,” Fossmo said.
The suspect continued to about 2300 East and 3500 South, in Millcreek, before the chase ended and the driver gave himself up at about 12:15 a.m.
The man, whose name has not yet been released, already had outstanding warrants of theft by receiving a motor vehicle, assaulting an officer, and multiple drug-related charges, among other things, according to information from the West Valley City Police.
“This will add fleeing the police and another count of possession of a stolen vehicle,” Fossmo said.
