Crash claims Tooele man

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

The officer was traveling south on Redwood Road at an unknown rate of speed about 12:40 a.m., 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 another vehicle, she said. It is unknown which direction that car was traveling.

Investigators were looking Wednesday at whether the victim, identified as John Terry Douglas, of Tooele, was making a left turn when he was hit. The officer's car smashed into the passenger side door. Douglas was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officer was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a knee injury and released a few hours later. He was placed on administrative leave until the outcome of the investigation is determined.

"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 that began near 4500 S. State and ended somewhere near 10775 S. 3200 West in South Jordan. A 22-year-old man was arrested a short time later. Police say he was hiding in another vehicle near where the chase was terminated. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Adult Detention Center 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 farther 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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