Driver eludes police via 'swim'

Utah Highway Patrol troopers say a man made a wet getaway early Friday morning by diving into a canal after leading police on a vehicle chase.

The incident began just after 2 a.m. when a trooper tried to stop a vehicle heading north on I-215 near 4700 South for speeding and expired plates, UHP spokesman Sgt. Wade Breur said.

The driver led troopers on a chase on I-15 until taking the Decker Lake exit to 3500 South, which dead-ends on Highway 201. Breur said the driver jumped out of the vehicle and dived under a nearby highway canal, which was very cold, given weather conditions.

"It's murky, it's nasty and it's muddy," Breur said. An hour after waiting for the man to come out, troopers called in a dive team, who after searching, found no trace of the individual. "He slipped out," Breur said.

Salt Lake police later picked up a man matching the clothing description walking along Highway 201 at 1300 East, but that man turned out not to be the driver involved in the earlier chase.

Police are still looking for the driver, described as a white man approximately 45 to 50 years old, about 5-foot-11 inches with a medium build and long blond hair.

A 45-year-old male passenger was arrested. Breur said the man told police that he and the other man had spent the night before using heroin.