Officer hit and killed by semitruck in Utah County, driver in custody, police say

A Santaquin police officer was hit and killed by a semitruck driver Sunday morning, and that driver is now in custody, according to police.

At a news conference Sunday, Lt. Cory Slaymaker with the Spanish Fork City Police Department said that the “very traumatic incident” started just before 6 a.m., when the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) received a 911 call about an individual standing on the back of a semi trailer as it drove north.

A Santaquin officer, as well as a UHP trooper, located the semi near Interstate 15 around mile marker 244, in Santaquin around 6:30 a.m. and conducted a traffic stop, Slaymaker said.

During the traffic stop, the driver of the semi fled and drove north a short distance before turning around and driving the wrong way back toward the officer and the trooper, Slaymaker said. The semi truck hit the officer and his vehicle, as well as the trooper’s vehicle.

The Santaquin officer — whose name had not yet been released Sunday afternoon — died at the scene after being hit by the semi, Slaymaker said.

The semi driver fled on foot, Slaymaker said, then stole multiple vehicles, including a white Ford F150 in Sanpete County. The 41-year-old driver was taken into custody in Vernal after a short chase that ended with him crashing the vehicle he was driving, Slaymaker said.

The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not identify suspects unless they have been charged with a crime.

Lt. Mike Wall, with the Santaquin City Police Department, grew emotional at the podium before saying, “Our entire department is hurt. And the family of the officer is hurt. Because of a senseless act by one individual, we have family members who will miss their father at their nearing wedding. But I can assure you, we as a police department will stand up and we will be there, and we are one family.”

Daniel Olson, the mayor of Santaquin, said, “This is a difficult day, a day that tends to rock a community that’s very tight-knit and caring. ... This is a tough loss for us.”

A huge motorcade of police motorcycles and emergency vehicles followed the slain officer’s ambulance in a procession Sunday afternoon that traveled north on I-15 from Santaquin to the medical examiner’s office in Taylorsville.

Ahead of the ambulance were 23 motorcycle officers, followed by 11 vehicles from the Santaquin police. Trailing the ambulance were a fire truck, followed by police vehicles from other agencies, including Spanish Fork police and the sheriff’s offices of Utah and Juab counties.

As rain and snow fell, people and other emergency vehicles lined overpasses in Utah County to pay their respects, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson observed.

When the ambulance arrived in Taylorsville, a group of officers and firefighters accompanied the flag-draped gurney inside the building, as an “honor line” of officers stood saluting on either side.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday morning, Gov. Spencer Cox said the news of the officer’s death was “devastating.”

“Please keep this officer’s family in your prayers,” Cox wrote. “Our hearts are broken and we give our unending gratitude to all those who protect and serve.”