07/03/15 Hurricane, UT – Traffic Stop – Passenger Steals Washington Co. Deputy’s Patrol Car – 100 MPH Chase – Multiple Agencies Involved – Chased Into Zion National Park

July 3, 2015

stgeorgeutah.com

A Cedar City man was arrested Friday after stealing a sheriff deputy’s patrol car and leading multiple law enforcement agencies on a high speed chase into Zion National Park.

At approximately 11 a.m., a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy in Hurricane was investigating a stationary vehicle parked off the road that had been reported stolen out of Las Vegas, Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Shauna Jones said.

While pulling up on the scene, the deputy noticed another vehicle pulling out of the area. He got out of his patrol car to speak to the driver. As he did so, a passenger, identified as 30-year-old Clayton Glenn Campbell, of Cedar City, got out of the vehicle, ran over to the patrol car, jumped inside and sped away in it.

A chase ensued on state Route 9 at various rates of speed, ranging from about 75 mph to over 100 mph. At one point, Campbell took the car into LaVerkin, back into Hurricane, back into LaVerkin again, then on toward Virgin, all while being pursued.

It was around Virgin that pursuing officers lost sight of Campbell, Jones said.

At one point during the chase, Campbell is alleged to have attempted to ditch the patrol car and carjack another vehicle but was unsuccessful, Jones said.

The stolen patrol car was spotted again in Springdale and continued on SR-9 into Zion National Park, where Campbell made it to the Mt. Carmel Tunnel.

National Park Service Rangers and Kane County Sheriff deputies were waiting at the east entrance of the tunnel, where the stolen patrol car’s tires were spiked.

Campbell was ultimately taken into custody around noon.

No one was harmed during the chase and no accidents were triggered by it, Jones said, though the incident is still under investigation. It was also an unknown as this report is published if the driver of the vehicle Campbell originally jumped out of had any involvement in the incident. Thus far, that individual has not been taken into custody, Jones said.

Campbell was booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility. He faces two second-degree felonies for possession of a stolen vehicle; one third-degree felony for evading police; and various misdemeanors for reckless driving, giving false information to police and driving on a suspended license. He also had a misdemeanor-level warrant out for his arrest.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Hurricane City Police, Springdale Police, National Park Service and Kane County Sheriff’s Office each responded to the incident.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.