Kaysville police officer stops wrong-way driver on I-15
Feb 9, 2024, 5:49 AM | Updated: 9:56 pm
KAYSVILLE — A Kaysville police officer crashed head-on into a car to stop a wrong-way driver on Interstate 15 early Friday morning.
Sgt. Cameron Roden, public information officer with the Utah Highway Patrol, said the car was traveling north in the soundbound lanes around 2 a.m. in the Farmington area. Shortly after, a Kaysville officer spotted the car near 200 North and entered southbound I-15 from the 200 North onramp.
Roden said the vehicles collided, and the officer had to be extricated from his patrol vehicle. He was taken to an area hospital with moderate injuries.
Officer Kalawai Delos Santos with the Kaysville Police Department has been released from the hospital and is at home recovering.
“We’re grateful for the Kaysville officer for what he did,” Sgt. Scott Wilson with Utah Highway Patrol said. “He saved lives, but it could easily have taken his life.”
Wilson said wrong-way crashes due to impaired driving are occurring all too often.
“A lot of DUI drivers we’re seeing is the biggest reason that we’re encountering wrong-way drivers. We’ve seen an increase in it. It’s a big issue that we’re trying to deal with and come up with ways to handle it,” he said. “Whenever you see a law enforcement officer with their lights on, just kind of be aware, be vigilant. Don’t pass an officer when they’re trying to do slowdowns. People are still trying to pass us because they’re in a hurry, and that just causes more problems to the issue.”
The wrong-way driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI, and all southbound lanes of I-15 were closed for several hours.
In a press release, Kaysville police say this is Santos’s second time intercepting a wrong-way driver. The first time happened in April 2022.
