UHP seizes marijuana after car chase, crash

MIDVALE — Utah Highway Patrol troopers Monday evening seized 15 pounds of marijuana from a car they were searching following a chase.

The marijuana was packaged in one-pound bags that were inside a garbage bag, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Wade Breur said.

About 6:50 p.m., a trooper stopped a man on I-215 near the I-15 south interchange for following too closely. As the trooper was walking toward the driver's vehicle to talk with him, the man sped away, Breur said.

The chase left I-215 and continued on I-15. The driver exited at 7200 South, but took a corner too fast and crashed. The driver fled on foot, but changed his direction when he saw a trooper. He started to jump over a fence that would have landed him on the freeway, but officers detained him, Breur said.

The UHP believes the presence of drugs in the car prompted the man to evade, Breur said.