A man who apparently grew angry because he couldn’t buy a plane ticket to Denver early Friday is now in custody after Salt Lake City police said he carjacked two vehicles, attempted to carjack two more and crashed into several others while trying to evade authorities before he was ultimately arrested in Summit County.
At the Salt Lake City International Airport early Friday, the 20-year-old man first became “upset with airline employees” and “caused a disruption” at about 5 a.m., police said.
As Salt Lake City airport officers responded, the man carjacked an SUV in the airport’s pick-up area, forcing the driver — who was not injured — from the vehicle.
The man then drove the stolen vehicle for about 9 miles before he crashed into a silver car near 900 West and 2100 South. He then did a U-turn and crashed into a white SUV, police said. Neither driver was injured.
(Salt Lake City Police Department) This vehicle was reported carjacked and crashed on Friday morning.
According to a news release, the man then tried to carjack the white SUV he crashed into, but the driver was wearing a seat belt and fought back, police said.
Instead, the man retreated to the stolen SUV, got back behind the wheel and headed toward South Salt Lake, nearly hitting a building before crashing into another car.
After that wreck, he again got out of the stolen SUV and carjacked a Dodge Durango, police said. The 20-year-old then drove the stolen Dodge east on Interstate 80, crashing it “multiple times into several cars.”
The Utah High Patrol confirmed five cars were hit on I-80, one of which rolled over near Parleys Summit. Two people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, according to UHP.
While two Summit County sheriff’s deputies were investigating one of the I-80 crashes, they heard the carjacker throwing rocks at passing cars in an apparent attempt to make them stop, Salt Lake City police said.
The deputies then witnessed the man trying to carjack another vehicle, but the driver pulled the keys out of the ignition. The deputies took the man into custody at about 6:15 a.m., more than an hour after the initial “disruption” at the airport, police said.
The man was taken to a hospital for observation, according to Salt Lake City police. He’s expected to be booked into the Summit County jail on suspicion of multiple charges as the investigation continues.
Follow @ScottDPierce