A teenager in a stolen car led police in two counties on a chase early Sunday that ended with his rolling the car on a dirt road, then shooting himself.
The youth was pronounced dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Iron County deputy Jody Edwards said. The youth's identity was not released Monday, pending notification of next of kin.The chase started in Beaver when an officer attempted to stop a Honda Civic and the car instead sped through a red light, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Chuck Collings said. The car traveled east to the North Creek Road, then wound through the county for some 10 miles on dirt roads.
The youth sped through a roadblock set up by a Beaver County officer, then traveled west to U-357, where a UHP trooper joined the chase.
The youth passed through a second roadblock, set up on U-357, then turned off onto a county road some five miles north of Beaver, Collings said. The chase passed under I-15, reaching speeds up to 75 mph on the dirt roads. The youth entered U-21 going west toward Minersville, where he passed through a third roadblock. Speeds on the paved stretch of road reached up to 100 mph during the pursuit.
At Minersville, the youth turned south onto U-130 and eventually came upon spikes set up by an Iron County deputy and Parowan city police officer about 12:30 a.m., according to UHP and Iron County officials.
Despite tire damage caused by the spikes, the youth turned east on The Gap road, a dirt road connecting U-130 and Parowan, according to Edwards.
Some four miles down the road, the stolen car tipped on its side, Collings and Edwards said. The Iron County officer in pursuit of the youth exited his truck and heard a gunshot as he walked toward the car, Edwards said.
The youth, who was not severely injured in the accident, died at the scene.