Taxi cab passenger runs into oncoming traffic

A drunken taxi cab passenger leapt from a moving vehicle and ran into the path of oncoming traffic Saturday night before being hit and seriously injured.

The man was riding in the taxi cab near 1300 S. 800 E. when he became belligerent and told the cab driver he would not pay for the service, said Salt Lake Lt. Lamar Ewell. As the cab slowed, the man jumped out and ran behind the cab.

The man was then hit by an oncoming car, Ewell said. The crash occurred about 8:45 p.m.

"He punched a perfect hole in the passenger side windshield," Ewell said.

The man was taken from the scene by ambulance in critical but stable condition, Ewell said.