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LAKE POINT, Tooele County — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper is being praised for stopping a wrong-way driver by intentionally hitting his vehicle head-on.
Just before 3 p.m. Tuesday, a pickup truck pulling a trailer was heading east in the westbound lanes of I-80 near Lake Point in Tooele County. Emergency dispatchers put out a call to all troopers in the area to be on the lookout for the wrong-way driver, according to a statement from UHP.
A sergeant was traveling west on I-80 when he saw the pickup coming his way. The sergeant turned on his overhead emergency lights, "reduced his speed and stayed in the path of the wrong-way driver. The wrong-way driver struck the sergeant's patrol car," the UHP stated.
At the same time, another vehicle hit the trooper from behind. Both the trooper and pickup truck driver were taken to local hospitals. The freeway was shut down for about an hour while emergency crews attended to the wreck.
"Today our Utah State Trooper placed himself directly in harms way to stop a Wrong Way Driver before it collided with traffic immediately behind him. We pray for a quick recovery, and we are grateful and proud of his willingness to put the safety of others ahead of his own," Col. Michael Rapich, head of the Utah Highway Patrol, posted on Twitter on Tuesday.
Gov. Spencer Cox added to that tweet Wednesday by saying, "This trooper had just finished his shift and was on his way home when he saw a car coming at him going the wrong way. He knew he had one chance to protect the drivers behind him. Without hesitation he put his own life on the line. I'm grateful for heroes."
The sergeant, a veteran officer with the UHP, was recovering at home Wednesday.
The 62-year-old man driving the pickup received minor injuries. What caused him to drive the wrong way was still under investigation by the Tooele County Sheriff's Office. As of Wednesday, the man had not been arrested or charged.
