OREM — A Nephi woman was arrested in an incident that appears to be tied to an Orem police officer firing a shot at a truck leaving the scene of an accident Friday night.
Police have released little information about the shooting.
Samantha Bencomo, 28, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to stop at the command of a police officer.
The events began when an owner of a car dealership at 1153 N. State reported seeing a small pickup truck back up and hit one of the cars in his lot, according to a police booking affidavit. The owner approached the driver, but the truck fled. The owner then followed in his personal vehicle.
The owner told police he witnessed the truck hit a cinderblock wall and continue driving before pulling into a Fast Gas gas station at 1091 N. State in Orem.
Shortly after both entered the gas station, the car dealer caught the attention of an Orem police officer pulling into the parking lot and reported the hit-and-run crash. The driver of the truck drove off as the officer approached it and told the driver to stop, the affidavit states.
Orem police then located the pickup truck stopped at the intersection of 800 North and 800 West, the affidavit says, and an officer pulled in front of the vehicle to prevent it from leaving and instructed the driver to exit.
“Samantha is clearly seen making a visible hand gesture to the Orem police officer in what appears to be an acknowledgement of his presence,” police wrote in the affidavit.
Bencomo “backs the truck up, stops, then accelerates at a high rate of speed,” the affidavit says. “As Samantha is accelerating, she swerves the truck toward the Orem police officer. As the officer sidesteps to avoid being hit, Samantha changes the direction of the truck towards the officer in a clear attempt to run him over.”
Despite the officer jumping to avoid Bencomo, he was struck by the front passenger side of the pickup, according to the affidavit.
“The officers were responding to a hit-and-run accident, when they located the vehicle at 800 North and 800 West,” said Orem Police Lt. Nick Thomas said Friday night. “An officer discharged his weapon.”
Thomas did not elaborate and Orem police did not return calls Saturday. The affidavit makes no mention of an officer firing a shot.
Bencomo continued to flee the scene but eventually crashed the truck near 980 West and 1600 North where she was arrested, according to the affidavit.
Thomas declined to say whether Bencomo or anyone else in the truck leaving the scene was hit by the shot or shots.
“It could have been busy with traffic starting to come out again,” Thomas said of where the shooting took place. “It’s a busy time. We’re glad the officer is OK. Glad everyone is OK.”
According to Thomas, no one was hospitalized in connection with either the accident or the shooting.
Thomas said a group of combined investigators from various county agencies will investigate the shooting, but Orem will also conduct a “parallel investigation” of its own.
Contributing: Amy Donaldson