UHP Trooper Praised In Social Media Post After Responding To Car Fire

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In a viral Facebook post, Cannon Jones praised Utah Highway Patrol trooper Taylor Griffith who responded to his car going up in flames.

“He exemplified the highest nobility an officer can,” Jones wrote. “He ran to the fire when we were running away from it. His actions were not based on race or color but of selfless sacrifice.”

Jones and a passenger called 911 when his car lost power and started smoking while driving northbound on I-15 near 900 south. The two made it over five lanes to the shoulder and jumped out.

“At first it was like, maybe we can do something to stop this,” Jones said. “And then quickly we found out there was nothing that was going to stop it. The smoke kept coming.”

The passenger, Kenadi Short, started filming the ordeal, not realizing how serious of a situation it would turn into.

“The smoke started coming out in the front and we were, like, laughing,” Short said. “We didn’t know that there was a fire underneath the car until we got out.”

That smoke quickly tuned into flames, and a bystander who stopped up ahead waved the two over to safety.

“We ran with him, we got in the car, went maybe 200 yards away, and we are watching it just burn in flames for a couple minutes,” Jones said. “And then the police officer showed up.”

Griffith arrived first on scene minutes after the call.

“I could see the black smoke already in there as I got closer, so I knew it was something to hurry to,” Griffith said.

Without knowing the car was empty, Griffith rushed to break the windows.

“Immediately I was thinking, you know, there is somebody inside,” he said “I was relieved when I didn’t see anybody inside, but I was more relieved when the driver was yelling saying, ‘That’s my car.’”

It was a huge relief and an experience that helped Jones see the good.

“When it came to human life, that was his concern,” he said. “And he just showed me that there is a lot of good in police officers.”