A high-speed chase that started in Davis County on Monday ended about 20 minutes later with the arrest of a Salt Lake man, who abandoned his car and hid from police near an airport building.
The man, in his 20s, fled from deputies after they found him parked in an isolated area in North Salt Lake near the Jordan River, said Eileen Knighton, a deputy with the Davis County Sheriff's Department. Deputies commonly check cars parked in the vicinity of the river for illegal activity, she said.The man started his car when confronted and skirted Knighton's patrol car at a high speed about 5:20 p.m. He fled south to I-15 at speeds well over 95 mph, eventually involving the Utah Highway Patrol in the pursuit.
The man sped through the terminal onramp at the Salt Lake International Airport at excessive speed, said Lt. LaDeane Jones of the Salt Lake City Airport Authority. At that point, officers slowed their pursuit to prevent any threat to citizens.
The pursuit turned into a foot chase when the man crashed his compact car through an airport fence and abandoned it near the Lockheed Air Terminal Inc. building, 776 N. Terminal Drive, at 5:40 p.m., Knighton said. Police found him five minutes later hiding near the building.
The man was arrested and booked into the Davis County Jail for investigation of Driving Under the Influence, felony fleeing, possession of drug paraphernalia and various traffic offenses.