Teen driver runs off road after

high-speed chase on U.S. 89

By Robert Stevens

Managing editor

Dec. 14, 2017

GUNNISON—Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office deputies successfully deployed spike strips for tires to put an end to a high-speed pursuit last Friday that started in Manti and ended in Gunnison.

According to the sheriff’s office, on Friday, Dec. 8, Sanpete County Dispatch got a call about a reckless driver suspected to be suicidal who was traveling south on U.S. 89.

Dispatch was informed the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed and was weaving in and out of traffic.

Dispatch requested a response from available officers in the area, and a Sanpete County Sheriff’s deputy located the vehicle on Main Street in Manti and attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle.

At this point, the vehicle fled, increasing speed even further, and the pursuit began.

A tire-deflation device with spikes called Stop Sticks was successfully deployed on the fleeing vehicle just south of Manti, flattening both of the fleeing vehicle’s passenger-side tires.

The fleeing vehicle continued leading deputies on a pursuit south on U.S. 89 toward Gunnison, despite having no air in the passenger-side tires.

The whole thing came to an end when the vehicle came to a stop by running off the road into a freshly plowed field near 300 W. 300 North in Gunnison.

The 15-year-old driver of the vehicle was taken into custody without further incident.