This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
During a high-speed chase in West Valley City earlier this year, Salt Lake City police Detective Gordon Swift watched from a distance as the car they were chasing swerved suddenly across three lanes and hit a WVC police officer who was trying to lay spike strips in the road.
"I thought I was watching an officer about to die," Swift testified Friday during a preliminary hearing in 3rd District Court.
Swift said the Chrysler 500 was heading straight towards Officer Jared Cardon, who jumped out of the way at the last minute.
"If he hadn't made that jump, I thought it would have hit him square on," Swift said Friday, adding that the front corner of the car hit the officer and "launched him in the air."
Police believe Tyrel Elsworth Cox, 32, was behind the wheel on July 29 when he fled from officers attempting to stop him on State Road 201 and struck Cardon, injuring his leg.
Cox is charged in 3rd District Court with first-degree felony attempted murder, along with third-degree felony failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop and two counts of third-degree felony possession of a controlled substance.
After hearing testimony on Friday, 3rd District Judge Ann Boyden ruled that there was probable cause for Cox to stand trial on the charges. He is expected in court again on Friday.
Cardon did not testify at the preliminary hearing.
Officers testified that they were in the area that day working a multi-agency operation targeting stolen vehicles and wanted fugitives. Swift said several agencies were looking for Cox on multiple warrants, and some West Valley City officers had tried to stop him, but he fled.
Charges allege that Cox sped away from officers in his car, and "traveled through red lights, and nearly collided with several vehicles." He was reportedly going over 115 mph when he reached SR 201, where Cardon, who was in a police uniform, was out of his vehicle and ready to lay down spike strips near the Bangerter Highway onramp.
After striking Cardon, the suspect fled east, but was eventually stopped by a Unified Police officer using a PIT maneuver near 3600 South and 2700 West. When Cox was arrested, police allegedly found methamphetamine and cocaine on him.
Cox has a criminal history dating back almost a decade, including felony convictions for drug possession and theft by receiving stolen property, according to a search of Utah court records.