This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
An allegedly intoxicated driver escaped serious injury after crashing into an unoccupied vehicle while driving the wrong way on Bangerter Highway on Friday night. The driver was not wearing a seat belt, police said.
But Luis A. Ramirez could face a slew of charges, including lewdness for urinating on a police cruiser while being escorted from the hospital to jail, Draper police say.
Ramirez, 22, was the man behind the wheel of a Dodge Neon that motorists had observed driving erratically in unincorporated part of Salt Lake County and then West Jordan, according to Sgt. Pat Evans.
One motorist, whose car the Neon sideswiped, followed it onto Bangerter's westbound lanes. The Neon made a U-turn and headed east against the flow of traffic before drifting onto the shoulder and colliding at an estimated 50 mph with a disabled car parked near 13600 South.
Ramirez was taken by ambulance to Intermountain Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries and handed over to police custody. While walking out of the hospital, Ramirez managed to drop his trousers and relieve himself on the side of a police car, Evans said.
Ramirez was booked into jail on suspicion of DUI, reckless driving and driving on a denied license, as well as public urination.
The driver of the disabled vehicle had left his car to fetch repair parts. Had he been working on the car, he would likely have been gravely injured in the crash, police say.