Trooper falls from Utah overpass while trying to stop fleeing vehicle

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL.com) — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was seriously injured, and a Salt Lake police officer lucky to escape injury Tuesday while both were trying to stop a fleeing vehicle.

The trooper fell an unknown distance off of an overpass near the intersection of I-80 and 7200 West while trying to deploy tire spikes, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. He was flown to a local hospital in serious condition. A Salt Lake police officer, meanwhile, was not injured when the officer’s car was hit by the fleeing SUV, according to police.

The chain of events began just after 10 a.m. when Salt Lake police attempted to pull over an SUV near 900 W. North Temple as part of a drug investigation, according to police. Police say the vehicle, which was being driven by 34-year-old Sammy Michael Swickey, took off. However, police did not chase after it, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Mark Wian.

Another officer spotted the SUV about 15 minutes later near 7200 West and 1300 South. That officer attempted to stop the SUV but was hit by the fleeing vehicle. Wian said the officer’s patrol car had minor damage and the officer was not injured.

By this time, UHP troopers were also in the area to assist Salt Lake police. As the SUV approached the intersection of I-80 and 7200 West, a trooper who was outside of his vehicle preparing to deploy tire spikes when he “fell off the bridge while pulling the deflation device back,” the UHP stated.

UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said whether the SUV hit the trooper and knocked him off or swerved at him in an attempt to hit him was still being investigated.

The Department of Public Safety helicopter followed the SUV to a nearby hotel where officers boxed in the driver in the parking lot and took the driver into custody. Swickey was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault on a police officer, drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, failing to stop at the command of police, driving on a revoked license and running a red light.

The helicopter then returned to the scene where the trooper had fallen and transported him to a local hospital in serious condition, Roden said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, police said the trooper, whose name was not immediately released, was “stable.”