Police Catch DUI Suspect Who Fled in Trooper’s Car
By Ashley Broughton - The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah
09/07/03
A man suspected of driving under the influence led authorities on a chase early Saturday after he stole a Utah Highway Patrol vehicle during a traffic stop, officials said.
The man in his 20’s was stopped about 6 a.m. near 2300 S. Redwood Road for a traffic violation, said UHP Sgt. Dave Popelmayer. The trooper who stopped him placed him under arrest for outstanding warrants, as well as a possible DUI, Popelmayer said.
The man was handcuffed, he said, and was seat-belted into the passenger seat of the trooper’s patrol car. But while the trooper was searching his car, the man managed to slip the handcuffs down around his feet and climb over equipment kept between the passenger and driver seat in the car, Popelmayer said. He drove away heading northbound in the car, leaving his girlfriend in the custody of authorities.
About 9 a.m., the car was found near 1899 S. Redwood Road, a couple of blocks away, Popelmayer said. "he abandoned the vehicle right there and took off on foot," he said. Nothing had been taken from the patrol car. "It was there with the lights going," Popelmayer said.
Authorities knew the man’s address and surrounded his home about 10 a.m., he said. The man was apprehended shortly afterward without incident, he said, and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.