CENTERVILLE — A race on I-15 led to a series of police chases and ultimately the arrest of a Magna man Friday who was hiding in a garage, police said.
The episode began about 8 p.m. Friday when officers received reports of three vehicles — an older model Camaro, a newer Camaro and a Neon — racing each other northbound on the I-15 freeway near Centerville.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers stopped the Neon, but the driver of the newer Camaro would not pull over and a trooper initiated a high-speed chase, the UHP reported. Troopers determined that the fleeing Camaro had been stolen Thursday from the Highland-Alpine area.
During the pursuit, the driver of the Camaro turned into the center median in a construction zone in Farmington, "possibly to turn around when he saw a construction worker in a truck ahead of him," a UHP report states.
As the driver tried to back out of the median, the Camaro struck the front of the trooper's vehicle, causing "moderate damages" to both cars. The trooper was not injured.
Troopers pursued the stolen vehicle as it exited I-15 onto U.S. 89, but terminated the chase for safety reasons. Kaysville police later observed the Camaro in their city and chased it until it reached state Route 193, the report states. A Weber County sheriff's deputy later spotted it on I-84 and followed it. Ogden police eventually found the car crashed on 34th Avenue and Adams Avenue.
Witnesses said the driver and a female passenger fled on foot after the crash and they led officers to a garage where the man was hiding, according to the report.
Eduardo Correa, 20, was arrested and booked into the Davis County Jail for investigation of reckless driving, failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop, failure to remain at the scene of an accident, possession of a stolen vehicle, driving on a denied license and assault by a prisoner.
Investigators continued Saturday to look for the unidentified passenger. Correa has possible ties to "several car thefts and burglaries" in northern Utah County, according to the UHP.
Troopers did not say what happened to the older Camaro.
Email: klarsen@deseretnews.com