SANTA, Utah — A truck driver allegedly killed a police officer during a traffic stop on a Utah highway on Sunday by crashing his vehicle into the officer, police said.
A Santaquin police officer and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper had stopped the semitrailer around 6:30 a.m. after someone called 911 to report a person standing on the back of the vehicle as it headed north on Interstate 15.
According to Spanish Fork police, the man began driving away during the stop, then turned the semi-trailer around before driving the wrong way on the highway. The vehicle struck two police cars and the Santaquin officer, who died at the scene.
Police identified the truck driver as Michael Aaron Jayne, 41. He was not yet in jail and did not have an attorney who could comment on his behalf, police said.
Authorities have not released the name of the dead officer.
“Our entire department is injured. And the officer’s family is hurt because of one person’s senseless act,” Spanish Fork Police Lt. Cory Slaymaker said at a news conference.
The stop occurred on I-15 in Santaquin, a city of about 14,000 residents 65 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Authorities allege Jayne fled on foot and stole vehicles, including a pickup truck. Police said he was arrested later Sunday after a brief pursuit in the Vernal area, about 160 miles east of Santaquin.
Who drove into the back of the semi-trailer and why is still under investigation, Slaymaker said.