MAGNA, Utah, April 26, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Multiple police departments responded to the scene of a crash Saturday night in Magna after officers were already in the area on a separate incident.
Lt. Manfred Lassig, watch commander for the Unified Police Department, told Gephardt Daily at the scene that officers went to the area of 3100 South and 8400 West just after 11:30 p.m. on a report of a possible domestic incident.
“A sergeant that was coming into the area saw a vehicle leaving the area where the domestic was going on,” Lassig said.
“The driver looked real hinky, so the sergeant turned around on it, and the car took off from him, ran a red light, and collided with another vehicle that was northbound on 8400. Ended up pushing that car off the road and almost hitting a house.”
Lassig said the three occupants in the vehicle that was hit were shaken up but were not injured.
A woman was pinned in the suspect’s car, and Unified Fire Authority personnel had to extricate her, Lassig said. She was taken to the hospital, likely in poor condition, but with no life-threatening injuries.
The male driver got out of the vehicle and fled, Lassig said.
West Valley City and Kearns units came to help Magna police set up a containment area.
UPD and West Valley police brought in K-9s to search the area, and the suspect was located about three blocks away.
“We had a perimeter from 3100 all the way north to 2700 south and from 8400 west to 8200 west,” Lassig said. “We caught him just off of 8400, down about 2800 south.”
Some area residents had also called in to report a man running through yards, which Lassig said helped officers track the suspect.
He said the man had “some injuries, so UFA came and checked him out at the scene and transported him to the hospital in poor-to-serious condition.”
Speaking about the impact of the collision, Lassig said, “One car was obviously totaled, the other has front-end, engine damage…The good thing about it is that the three occupants (of the victim car) are all in good shape.”
The incident is still under investigation.
