Woman driving 122 mph arrested after nearly hitting trooper, UHP says

NEPHI, Utah — A woman was arrested Tuesday after investigators say she tried to get away from troopers going 122 mph before swerving at one on the side of the road, causing her to crash.

Emily Marie Schantz, 19, was booked into the Juab County Jail on Tuesday for investigation of assault on an officer, failing to stop at the command of police, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.

Just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper reported spotting Schantz going 95 mph on I-15 near Nephi. When the trooper attempted to pull her over, she “accelerated away at speeds reaching approximately 122 mph, recklessly endangering other motorists on the interstate,” according to a police booking affidavit.

Further down the road, a UHP sergeant prepared to throw tire spikes onto the road to stop the pursuit. As Schantz approached the area where the sergeant was set up, “she swerved at (the sergeant) who was on the right shoulder, at nearly 100 mph. (The sergeant) had to run down an embankment, narrowly missing being hit by the fleeing vehicle. The vehicle drove down the embankment where it became disabled,” the affidavit states.

Schantz was arrested without further incident. In her car, troopers found marijuana, THC vapes, drug paraphernalia and an open bottle of alcohol which she claimed she had not drank, according to the affidavit.

“She stated that she was 19 years old and was two weeks pregnant. A records check on Emily showed no driver’s license had been obtained,” the affidavit states.

While being booked into jail, Schantz allegedly told deputies that she was on probation in Nevada and had violated the conditions of her probation by leaving the state.