Jud Burkett | The Spectrum via Ap Utah Highway Patrol troopers keep their weapons trained on a man who was holding two boys at gunpoint Monday in a maroon Scion on Interstate 15 near Hurricane in Washington County. Law enforcement officers had chased the Scion after the driver fled during a stop for a traffic violation. UHP used spikes to blow out the tires of the Scion, which eventually came to a stop on I-15, where the standoff ensued around noon.

Standoff on I-15 ends peacefully when armed man releases children

Washington County » 1-15 was closed and elementary school locked down during the ordeal.

By Erin Alberty, Mark Havnes

and Roxana Orellana

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Feb 06 2012 01:17 pm • Last Updated Feb 07 2012 02:15 pm

A nine-hour roadside standoff ended peacefully Monday night when an armed man released two children to authorities on Interstate 15 and surrendered to deputies in Washington County.

The man fled from LaVerkin police about 11 a.m., when an officer tried to stop him for a traffic violation near the Toquerville cemetery. A chase went through Hurricane and then north on I-15, crossing into the southbound lanes.

The man’s car came to a stop near State Road 9 after troopers punctured its tires with a spike strip. The driver had a handgun and two children in the car, said Washington County sheriff’s Detective Nate Abbot. Abbot did not know the ages of the children.

All three stayed in the car through eight hours of telephone discussions with sheriff’s negotiators, Abbott said. SWAT officers were at the scene throughout the day, and around noon the highway was closed in both directions. Traffic was routed to State Roads 9 and 17 for the duration of the closure.

At 7 p.m. the man’s cellphone ran out of power, so officers steered a robot to the car to deliver another phone. Discussions continued until about 8 p.m., when the driver surrendered to police and state caretakers took the children into custody.

The driver, believed to be the children’s father, never threatened the children with the gun or made any demands, Abbott said. Investigators are trying to learn why he fled troopers in the first place. There was no indication Monday that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Abbott said. The man was taken to the county jail pending charges.

Throughout the standoff, all lanes of I-15 were closed for about 11 miles and nearby Coral Canyon Elementary School in Washington City was locked down.

All students were kept indoors until 3:30 p.m. when school buses came to pick them up and school staffers safely escorted all the children out of the school, said principal Robyn Bishop. "We’ve taken every precaution to ensure the students’ safety," she said.

She said the students were aware of something happening and believed it had something to do with the car chase they had heard about.

She said traffic on I-15 could be viewed from some school windows and was barely moving Monday afternoon.

All lanes reopened about 9:30 p.m., troopers said.

rorellana@sltrib.com

Twitter:@RoxanaOre

mhavnes@sltrib.com

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