KANAB – A high-speed chase in Kane County Sunday afternoon ended in a crash and the arrest of an Arizona man who was allegedly driving a stolen car while under the influence of narcotics.
The chase began about noon when the U.S. Park Service attempted to pull over a BMW Z4 for speeding in the area of Glen Canyon Dam. In response to the attempted stop, the driver, Robert Joshua Kreckel, of Scottsdale, Arizona, “took off toward Kanab at a high rate of speed,” Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Mason Haycock said.
The U.S. Park Service eventually terminated the chase, which was then taken up by units from the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and Utah Highway Patrol. A pursuing Kane County Sheriff’s deputy was unable to keep up with Kreckel, though Haycock was able to intercept and pursue him about 20 miles outside of Kanab.
At one point during the pursuit, the BMW was recorded going 135 mph, Haycock said.
Kanab City Police and Kane County Sheriff’s units laid out spikes three miles east of Kanab, Haycock said. They also laid out a second set of spikes as the BMW entered the city. Kreckel went through the spikes and then headed into the Kanab Creek Ranchos residential area and then onto a dirt road.
Haycock was moving to intercept the BMW farther up the road, but Kreckel crashed into a ditch before then.
A Kanab City Police officer and a Bureau of Land Management ranger, both of whom had also been pursuing Kreckel, were able to get him out of the crashed car and take him into custody without incident.
Kreckel is believed to have been under the influence of narcotics during the chase, Haycock said.
A blood draw was conducted on Kreckel and sent in for testing. Until results come in, Haycock said, any guesses as to what substance may have been in his system would be speculative.
“I’m confident he was under the influence,” Haycock said. “Of exactly what? We won’t know until we get the results back.”
Prescription medications not prescribed to Kreckel, along with items that may be stolen, were allegedly found in the crashed car.
The BMW itself was reported stolen out of Phoenix, Haycock said. The City of Phoenix Police Department is also investigating a burglary case Kreckel is believed to be connected to, he said.
Kreckel was booked into the Kane County Jail and charged with a second-degree felony for possession of a stolen vehicle; a third-degree felony for fleeing from police; and five misdemeanor charges related to driving with a revoked license, speeding, failure to yield for an emergency vehicle, possession of drug paraphernalia, and having a measurable amount of a controlled substance in his body while driving.
Haycock said additional charges may be added in Kreckel’s case as the investigation progresses.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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Google shows this pretty boy being a serial screw-up.
Speaking of screw ups, any word on why the bookings link doesn’t work?
Kane County Sheriff site is working just fine. Washington County is not.
Dang junkie.
There were no drugs in my system. The police in this hick town assumed and now when u search my name this crap pops up.