A high-speed traffic stop ended with guns drawn by Utah Highway Patrol Thursday evening. As it turns out, the driver was not trying to evade police.
Eastbound traffic on Interstate 80 between Kimball Junction and Jeremy ranch was briefly interrupted on Thursday as the Utah Highway Patrol apprehended a driver weaving through traffic at speeds upwards of 120 miles per hour.
According to UHP Sergeant Cameron Roden, troopers initiated a pursuit after it appeared the vehicle sped up to escape. He said the vehicle then pulled over onto the median to stop and the male driver was apprehended. Roden said after the stop, things were not what they initially appeared to be.
“They took the driver into custody at gunpoint, treating it as if it had been a fleeing vehicle and a high-risk stop,” said Roden. “Then after interviewing him, they found that the driver, they felt that he did not know the tropers were after him, and when he noticed, he stopped on his own.”
Roden said it is standard practice to block traffic when a gun is drawn during a traffic stop.
“A lot of time, if we’re gonna do what we call a high-risk stop, we’re going to try to take lanes or anything that could possibly be in in the line of fire or cause hazard to the public or to the officers, we’re going to make sure that we are going to protect the scene and protect the area,” he said.
Roden said traffic was interrupted for approximately five minutes. The driver was cited for reckless driving and exhibition of speed and released.
