Driver takes UHP trooper on wild and scary ride

TOOELE — A routine traffic stop on I-80 near Delle turned into a wild ride for a Utah Highway Patrol trooper Wednesday when a driver he had stopped sped off — taking the trooper with him — when the officer reached into the car to remove the ignition keys.

The trooper managed to climb all the way into the car and tried unsuccessfully to stop the 21-year-old driver with a Taser, said Department of Public Safety spokesman Derek Jensen. Eventually, Jensen said, the trooper knocked the car's transmission into neutral, slowing the car and allowing him to escape.

The driver sped away again but was stopped when another patrol car pushed the vehicle into a berm on the side of the road. The trooper and the driver were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries from the crash.

The driver was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of felony evading, aggravated assault on a police officer, speeding and driving under the influence of drugs.