ST. GEORGE — A crash that injured two on Sunset Boulevard last weekend led to the arrest of a suspect who was charged with felony evading and misdemeanor DUI.
While stopped at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Valley View Drive on Saturday, an officer was advised that a black motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed down Bluff Street. Subsequent information informed that the motorcycle may have been traveling at triple-digit speeds in an area with a posted speed limit of 35 mph, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.
The officer activated the emergency lights and prepared to head toward Bluff Street, but before the officer had the chance to turn around, a motorcycle that matched the description reportedly sped past as the rider headed south on Valley View Drive.
As the patrol unit pursued the bike with lights and sirens activated, police say the rider looked back and then accelerated away.
Due to safety concerns for the public, the pursuit was terminated and the police unit fell back. The officer continued to follow far behind the motorcycle while “observing the male to make sure he didn’t crash somewhere,” the report states, adding that the suspect “showed no regard for the safety of the public” while traveling at such high speeds.
The rider then headed north onto Dixie Drive back toward Sunset Boulevard and headed east while additional officers responded to the area to assist in an attempt to intercept the bike.
One of the units headed toward the suspect spotted the motorcyclist heading east at more than 90 mph, where it then collided with a white vehicle at the intersection of Westridge Drive and Sunset Boulevard.
At the moment of impact, authorities estimate the bike struck the vehicle at 60 mph.
Police say the driver of the vehicle sustained an arm injury during the crash, while the motorcyclist, later identified as 34-year-old Michael Glenn Forehand of St. George, was found bleeding from a head injury sustained in the collision; he was taken into custody at the scene.
While speaking to the rider, officers detected the odor of alcohol coming from his breath and also noticed a number of physical signs indicating possible impairment. But due to the injury and the crash, a field sobriety test was not administered at the scene, according to the report.
“I did not think Michael was in a state to do the 9-step walk and turn, and I did not have him do the one-leg stand,” the officer notes in the report.
Instead, the suspect was transported to St. George Regional Hospital. After medical clearance, he was then transported and booked into jail facing a third-degree felony charge for failing to stop or respond at command of police.
The report also states the officer requested that Forehand be held without bail for showing “no remorse to the situation or safety to the public.” Rather, the suspect was “joking and laughing it off.”
The suspect also faces misdemeanor charges filed in connection with the incident, including reckless driving and DUI with personal injury.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. 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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