This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Investigators have identified one of the three people who died in a rollover crash near the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Michaela Martin, 18, of Taylorsville and two boys died Saturday after their vehicle flipped into a retention pond at the end of a chase on Interstate 80, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
The 24-year-old male driver of the black Volkswagen, who survived, allegedly sped out of a parking garage at the airport at about 5 a.m. and would not stop for an airport police officer, according to UHP Lt. Jeff Nigber.
The officer tried to stop the driver for speeding, but the driver drove east on I-80. The officer followed until his supervisor terminated the chase.
Nigber said the officer was starting to do a U-turn at an authorized point on the highway median when he saw a dust cloud. He continued east to an exit that goes onto southbound Interstate 215, where he spotted the car in the small body of water off the roadway.
Another airport officer and several troopers arrived as backup and they found Martin and the two boys in the upside-down vehicle, with the boys in the backseat, according to UHP. The driver was found hiding in the reeds, Nigber said.
The driver was taken to Intermountain Medical Center in critical condition with head trauma and broken bones. He has a suspended Utah driver's license and an active warrant for an alleged traffic offense, according to UHP.
The Airport Police Department is still investigating the crash.
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