Motorist killed after being hit by patrol car

A 27-year-old motorist was killed early Wednesday after being hit by a Taylorsville police officer's patrol car.

The officer was traveling at an unknown rate of speed about 12:40 a.m. southbound on Redwood Road, said Taylorsville Police Sgt. Rosie Rivera. The officer, whose name was not released Wednesday, had his overhead lights and siren on when he reached the intersection of 4700 South where his car collided with a northbound vehicle, she said.

Investigators were looking Wednesday at whether the victim was making a left turn when he was hit. The officer's car smashed into the passenger's side door. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officer was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a leg injury and released a few hours later.

"He's very shook up over the whole deal," Rivera said.

At the same time as that accident, other Taylorsville police officers were involved in a chase near 4700 South and 3200 West. That chase ended in South Jordan with a 22-year-old man arrested for investigation of fleeing, possession of a stolen vehicle and previous warrants.

"We don't know if he was responding to the chase," Rivera said. "He was going through the intersection with lights and sirens. We don't know anything other than that."

Rivera said the officer was not a part of the chase when the accident happened. Whether he was going to join in the chase, set up road spikes further down the road or was responding to a separate call altogether was not known Wednesday. Dispatch logs from the Valley Emergency Communications Center would be reviewed, she said. West Valley police were going to handle the investigation into the crash.

"We don't even know what his part was or if it was even connected to the chase," she said. "Our concern is for the victim. That's where our concern is, to make sure the family is taken care of. All that other stuff will come later after the investigations are done."

The officer has been with the Taylorsville Police Department since it started in 2005. The department would not say Wednesday whether the officer worked with another Utah police agency before then.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call police at 840-4000.

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