Suspected DUI driver flees from crash while driving with a 6-year-old, police say

SALT LAKE CITY — A suspected intoxicated man was arrested after he allegedly sped through a stop sign, crashed into another car, fled, and was found with a girl with no seatbelt.

Ammon James Thorpe, 38, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence with two or more priors in 10 years, having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, failing to comply with duties at a vehicle accident, and other DUI related charges, according to the police affidavit.

On Thursday afternoon, police reported the crash at the 1978 S. 3230 West intersection.

Witnesses and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper reported that Thorpe was in a gold Toyota Camry and drove through a stop sign without stopping and hit another truck. After the crash, Thorpe backed up and fled the scene in his truck.

According to the affidavit, the trooper noticed a “6-year-old female unrestrained and walking around within the vehicle” while Thorpe was driving.

The UHP trooper performed a traffic stop on Thorpe, and Thorpe pulled over and began to comply with police.

As the trooper spoke to Thorpe, he reported smelling alcohol on his breath, his eyes were red and glassy, and his speech was slurred. After being read his Miranda rights, Thorpe also admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the morning.

Police found “9 Tall Boy opened cans of hard seltzer seen underneath the front seats of (Thorpe’s) vehicle, all of them still had a small amount of alcohol in them,” according to the affidavit. Police also found a 2-month-old child in the truck.

The affidavit stated that Thorpe is an interlock-restricted driver, and the truck he was driving did not have an ignition interlock system.