Road rage chase leads to assault, man booked in jail

WEBER COUNTY, Utah — A man is in jail after a road rage chase that ended with the assault of a 16-year-old driver and a 20-year-old passenger near Washington Terrace late Wednesday night.

The man was identified as 22-year-old Anthony Downs.

According to court documents, a 16-year-old boy was driving eastbound on Riverdale Road at 1900 W. when a group of vehicles left the Burger Bar and began traveling alongside him. When they approached a stoplight near I-15, the driver of a gray BMW, who was following the teen, challenged him to a race.

The 16-year-old refused the offer and continued driving. The driver of the BMW, who was later identified as Downs, allegedly insisted that they race.

As they passed Ruby River, he called the teen’s vehicle “slow” and the teen again refused to race. The driver of the BMW began using profanities toward the teen and his 20-year-old passenger, who verbally argued back.

The three vehicles from Burger Bar continued to follow the teen, attempting to box him in. The teen told police the chase forced him to jump multiple curbs all the way to 464 W. and 4725 South in Washington Terrace, where he was allegedly blocked into a stranger’s yard.

According to the teen, six men exited the vehicles and one male from the BMW approached the teen, assaulting him and his passenger with a closed fist through the open car window. Police say the wound on the teen’s inner lip caused by a punch and his braces was consistent with his story.

During the altercation, the BMW driver broke the mirrors off the teen’s truck, which Downs later admitted to.

The teen said he looked through his snapchat stories, hoping to find the man through acquaintances in a street racing group. He found a video of the gray BMW doing a burnout, and continued looking for the man tagged in the snapchat video on Facebook.

He showed the profile to police, identifying Downs, as the male who had struck him. Police said Downs lived in Washington Terrace and had a history of street racing. Officer Ashton Olsen pursued the lead and went to Downs’ residence, where he welcomed deputies inside for a conversation about the incident.

Downs told officers that he was traveling alongside the teen, who he did not know, on Riverdale road. Downs said the teen used a profanity toward him and said he would cause an accident with his truck. According to Downs, that was when they “chased” the teen into Washington Terrace where they “exchanged words.”

Olsen said Downs suggested the confrontation may have become physical through the window, but did not further elaborate other than saying his memory “blacked out.”

At this point in the conversation, Downs was taken outside while officers assessed the situation and read his Miranda warning. Downs confirmed his story under Miranda, except instead of admitting to reaching in the teen’s vehicle, he admitted to getting angry and punching the mirrors off the teen’s truck.

Downs had injuries on the knuckles on his right hand, which Olsen said was consistent with both parties stories.

According to the probable cause statement, Downs was then put under arrest and is facing charges for child abuse with injury, assault, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment.